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EDUCATION  DEPT.. 


Publications  of  El  Paso  Public  Schools,  1922,  No.  1. 


SURVEY 

Of 

THE  CITY  SCHOOLS 

of 

EL  PASO,  TEXAS 


BY  PAUL  W.  HORN 

Superintendent    of   American   Schools,   Mexico    City, 
Ex-Superintendent   of  Schools,  Houston,   Texas; 
Author  of  a  Survey  of  the  Schools  of  Port- 
land, Oregon,  and  a  Member  of  Com- 
mission on  Survey  of  State  Schools 
of  Alabama. 


PRINTED    BY 

THE    DEPARTMENT    OF    PRINTING    OF    THE    CITY    SCHOOLS, 
EL    PASO,   TEXAS 


Publications  of  El   Paso  Public  Schools.  'lPi'2.  No.   1 


SURVEY 

.          Of 

THE  CITY  SCHOOLS 

of 

EL  PASO,  TEXAS 


BY  PAUL  W.  HORN 
i) 

Superintendent    of    American    Schools,    Mexico    Citv 
Ex-Superintendent    of    Schools,   Houston,    Texas,' 
Author  of  a  Survey   of  the  Schools   of  Port- 
land,   Oregon,    and    n    Member    of    Com- 
mission   on   Survey   of  State   Schools 
of  Alabama. 


PRINTED    BY 

THE    DEPART  MI  \T    OK    PRINTING    OK    THE    CITY    SCHOOLS, 
KI.    PASO.    TEXAS 


/.A5 


• 


EDUCATION  DEPT 


To  THE  HONORABLE  CITY  SCHOOL  BOARD, 
EL  PASO,  TEXAS. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 

I  transmit  to  you  herewith  a  report  of  the  brief  but  comprehensive 
survey  of  the  City  School  System  of  El  Paso,  which  I  have  made  in 
accordance  with  the  invitation  from  your  honorable  body  transmitted 
by  your  Superintendent  of  Schools. 

The  letter  of  invitation  was  so  framed  as  to  convey  to  me  the 
impression  that  you  desired  a  statement  of  the  essential  vital  facts 
concerning  your  school  system  rather  than  a  technical  analysis  of  the 
situation.  I  gathered  that  you  wished  this  statement  to  be  made  in 
such  simple  terms  as  could  be  readily  understood  by  the  laymen  in 
educational  affairs,  rather  than  in  the  technical  terms  of  the  profession 
of  pedagogy. 

With  this  suggestion  I  have  endeavored  to  comply.  I  have 
tried  to  present  a  report  which  can  be  used  in  helping  to  improve  the 
schools  and  conditions  about  them  rather  than  one  which  will  be  adr 
mired  for  the  exhaustiveness  of  its  investigations  or  the  pedagogical 
learning  displayed  in  it.  I  have  tried  to  write  a  report  which  will  be 
helpful  rather  than  one  which  will  be  admired. 

It  may  as  well  be  stated  frankly  also  that  the  subject  in  hand 
has  been  approached  in  a  sympathetic  manner.  It  is  assumed  that 
your  honorable  body  is  not  so  obviously  unfair  as  to  desire  a  report 
on  your  school  system  which  would  include  all  the  bad  things  which 
might  be  said  about  it  and  exclude  all  the  good  things.  A  fair  re- 
port should  include  both.  A  school  survey  which  degenerates  into  a 
near  effort  at  systematic  fault  finding  cannot  claim  to  be  impartial. 

You  know  in  advance  of  any  report  that  the  average  public  school 
teacher  in  El  Paso,  just  as  elsewhere  in  America,  is  a  faithful,  con- 
scientious hard  working  individual.  As  a  general  rule  she  is  just  as 
anxious  to  improve  her  work  as  the  public  is  to  have  it  improved.  In 
order  to  really  understand  her  work  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  large 
amount  of  sympathy  with  it.  Her  work  is  a  great  deal  more  likely 
to  be  helped  out  by  one  who  approaches  it  in  a  spirit  of  sympathy  than 
by  one  who  comes  merely  in  search  of  faults. 

In  any  discussion  of  the  vital  and  essential  points  connected  with 
any  school  system  the  first  question  which  naturally  arises  is  as  to 
what  these  points  are.  They  are  more  or  less  the  same  in  any  city 
school  systetm.  While  opinions  may  differ -slightly  in  regard  to  them 
it  may  be  generally  agreed  that  the  study  of  any  school  system  is  at 


M240813 


least  fajrly  complete  if  it  includes  the  essential  points  concerning  the 
following: 

1.  The  city  itself.  Its  needs,  size,  location,  environment,  people,  racial 
composition,  wealth,  industries. 

2.  The  organization  of  the  school  system. 

3.  The  school  board.     Method  of  selection,  method  of  function. 

4.  School  finances. 

.").     School   plant.     Buildings,    grounds,    equipment. 

6.  Supervision. 

7.  The  teaching  staff.     Preparation,  experience,  source  of  supply,  num- 
bers,  appointment,  methods  of  improvement,  salaries,  etc. 

8.  The  course  of  study. 

9.  The  class  room  product. 

10.  The  numerous  departments  of  regular  school  work. 

11.  Extension  schools. 

12.  The  wider  use  of  the  school  plant. 

13.  Organized  co-operation  of  the  community  with  the  schools,  includ- 
ing parent-teacher   organizations,   and   other   organizations. 

14.  Health  work  in  the  schools. 
]•">.     Compulsory    education. 

1(5.     Records   and   reports. 

Each  one  of  these  topics  is  discussed  in  some  measure  in  this  re- 
port. They  are  followed  by  a  statement  of  conclusions  and  a  sum- 
mary of  recommendations. 

While  every  one  of  the  items  above  enumerated  is  of  real  import- 
ance to  any  school  system,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  some  of  them 
are  more  important  than  others.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are  about 
eight  really  vital  questions  that  can  be  asked  about  any  school  sys- 
tem, and  they  may  stated  about  as  follows: 

1.  Is  it  so  constructed  and   administered  as  to  meet  well  the  charac- 
teristic needs  of  the  community  in  which  it  is  located? 

2.  Is  the  financial  support  adequate? 

3.  Are  the  buildings,  grounds  and  equipment  adequate  in  quantity  and 
modern  and  up-to-date  in  quality? 

4.  Does  the  supervisory  force  function  in  real  helpfulness  to  the  teach- 
ing staff? 

.">.  Is  the  teaching  staff  well  prepared?  Is  it  selected  and  retained  on 
the  sole  basis  of  merit?  And  is  it  earnestly  engaged  in  the  study 
and  the  solution  of  school  problems? 

(i.  To  what  extent  does  the  school  enroll  and  retain  and  advance  the 
children  whom  it  is  designed  to  serve? 

7.     Is  the  class  room  product  good? 

5.  What  is  the  school  doing   to  safeguard  and   improve   the  health    of 
the  children  and  their  teachers? 

Most  of  the  space  in  this  report  has  been  devoted  to  an  attempt 
to  answer  these  eight  vital  questions. 

In  collecting  the  facts  set  forth  in  this  report  the  following 
ods  are  used: 

1.     Personal  visits  to 'nearly  all  of  the  school   rooms   of  the -city 
school  work  has  been  in  progress. 

(4) 


2.  Personal  inspection  of  the  entire  school  property. 

3.  The  use  of  the  Ayres  spelling  scale  in   all  the  schools  of  the  city 
above  the  First  Grade. 

4.  Personal   inspection   of  at  least  one   piece   of  written   English  from 
every  pupil  in  the  city  schools  above  the  Kindergarten. 

.").  Conferences  with  school  board  members,  superintendents,  super- 
visors, janitors,  patrons,  city  officials,  members  of  co-operative  or- 
ganizations and  oth.er  representative  citizens. 

6.  An  inspection  of  the  minutes  of  the  meetings  of  the  school  board. 

7.  Inspection  of  every  printed  blank  form  in  the  school  system. 

s.     Study   of   the  school   budget   and   the   Superintendent's  annual  and 

monthly  reports. 

9.     Careful  reading  and  study  of  the  printed  course  of  study  in  schools. 
10.     Study  of  the  statistics  of  the  various  city  school  systems  of  Texas 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  State  Superintendent  of  Schools. 

With  this  preliminary  statement  the  following  report  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  Honorable  School  Board  of  El  Paso,  in  the  hope  that  it 
may  be  of  genuine  constructive  service  to  them  in  advancing  the  in- 
terests of  the  public  school  children  of  the  city  of  El  Paso. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

P.  W.  HORN, 

(SUPERINTENDENT  OF  AMERICAN  SCHOOLS  IN  CITY  or  MEXICO. 
FORMERLY   SUPERINTENDENT  OF  CITY  SCHOOLS,  HOUSTON,  TEXAS.) 


(5) 


The  City  School  System  of  El  Paso 


1.     THE  CITY  OF  EL  PASO. 

The  outstanding  facts  about  the  city  of  El  Paso  as  far  as  they 
have  any  bearing  upon  the  city  school  system  are  about  as  follows: 

According  to  the  figures  of  the  Federal  Census  of  1920  El  Paso 
had  then  a  population  of  77,560. 

In  1910  it  had  39,279. 

The  rate  of  growth  of  the  city  during  those  ten  years  was 
therefore  98  per  cent.  During  this  time  it  grew  more  rapidly  than 
did  any  other  of  the  larger  cities  in  Texas.  Only  a  few  cities  in  the 
entire  United  States  grew  more  rapidly.  It  now  ranks  as  fifth  in  size 
among  the  cities  of  Texas. 

Under  these  conditions  it  would  be  at  best  a  matter  of  grave  dif- 
ficulty for  the  city  to  keep  pace  in  its  school  facilities  with  its  general 
growth.  Unless  there  are  practically  double  the  number  of  school 
rooms  in  the  city  in  1920  that  there  were  in  1910,  the  city  has  gone 
backward  in  the  matter  of  school  facilities  rather  than  forward. 

In  March,  1921,  the  state  scholastic  census  enumerated  19,811 
children  of  scholastic  age.  In  the  same  month  of  1920  there  were 
18,157.  This  increase  of  1,654  children  enumerated  amounted  to 
practically  ten  per  cent  for  the  year.  Unless  the  number  of  school 
rooms  during  the  year  were  increased  by  ten  per  cent,  the  city  was 
just  that  much  worse  off  in  1921  from  the  standpoint  of  school  build- 
ings than  it  was  in  1920.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  school  session  of 
1921-22  opened  with  no  more  school  rooms  available  than  those  with 
which  1920-21  closed. 

The  entire  list  of  property  as  rendered  in  the  city  of  El  Paso  for 
1921  was  assessed  at  a  valuation  of  $97,500,000.00  on  a  basis  esti- 
mated to  be  70  per  cent  of  its  real  value.  Previous  to  this  year  the 
basis  of  valuation  had  been  60  per  cent. 

The  chief  industrial  plants  of  the  city  are  extensive  railroad  shops 
and  smelters. 

The  chief  industries  by  which  the  city  is  supported  are  foreign 
and  domestic  commerce,  transportation,  mining,  agriculture  and  the 
raising  of  live  stock. 

El  Paso  is  located  in  the  extreme  western  portion  of  Texas,  on 
the  Rio  Grande  River,  within  a  stone's  throw  of  Mexico,  and  quite 
close  to  the  state  line  of  New  Mexico.  It  is  comparatively  remote 

(7) 


from  other  cities  of  considerable  sixe  and  is  destined  to  be  the  com- 
mercial, industrial  and  educational  center  of  a  large  amount  of  terri- 
tory, including  much  of  West  Texas,  Southwestern  New  Mexico  and 
Northern  Mexico. 

It  is  this  location  which  gives  it  much  of  its  commercial  import- 
ance, and  it  is  the  same  location  which  defines  its  educational  problem 
and  makes  that  problem  complicated. 

While  no  exact  figures  for  the  purpose  are  available  it  is  esti- 
mated that  about  60  per  cent  of  the  population  of  El  Paso  is  either 
Mexican  or  of  Mexican  extraction. 

•  The  nearest  approach  to  accurate  information  on  the  subject  may 
be  found  in  the  statement  that  on. December  If),  1921,  there  were  en- 
rolled in  the  Mexican  schools  of  the  city  in  the  elementary  grades,  .1,772 
children,  and  at  the  same  time  there  were  0,112  children  enrolled  in 
the  same  grades  in  the  American  schools.  It  may  be  observed  in 
passing  that  while  these  races  are  not  segregated  by  any  order  of  the 
school  board  they  tend  largely  to  segregate  themselves  on  account  of 
the  districts  in  which  the  children  reside. 

Fewer  than  two  per  cent  of  the  people  are  negroes.  The  small- 
ness  of  this  percentage  constitutes  one  decided  difference  between  the 
educational  problem  in  El  Paso  and  that  in  any  other  of  the  larger 
cities  in  Texas. 

The  city  is  divided  by  the  tracks  of  the  Southern  Pacific  and  Texas 
Pacific  railroads  into  two  general  districts,  approximately  equal  in  area 
and  not  widely  different  in  population.  "North  of  the  tracks"  is  the 
district  inhabited  chiefly  though  not  exclusively  by  native  born  Ameri- 
cans. ."South' of  the  tracks"  on  the  other  hand  is  the  district  inhabited 
almost  exclusively  by  people  of  Mexican  birth  or  extraction. 

This  distinction  must  be  borne  in  mind  by  anyone  who  would 
really  understand  the  school  problem  of  El  Paso.  Rightly  or  wrongly 
the  terms,  "North  of  the  tracks"  and  "South  of  the  tracks"  bob  up 
frequently  in  many  discussions  which  one  hears  in  El  Paso  with  refer- 
ence to  the  civic,  social,  religious,  industrial  or  educational  life  of  the 
city.  In  the  thinking  of  a  great  many  people  instead  of  there  being 
one  city  of  El  Paso  there  are  actually  two  cities  existing  side  by  side, 
with  only  the  railroad  tracks  between,  and  yet  varying  greatly  in  their 
needs,  their  taxable  values  and  their  racial  traits  and  ideals. 

Is  it  right  or  wrong  for  the  administration  of  the  school  system 
of  El  Paso  to  keep  in  its  mind  this  idea  of  two  different  cities,  "North 
of  the  tracks"  and  "South  of  the  tracks"? 

One  might  hesitate  to  give  a  categorical  answer  to  this  question, 
but  the  following  qualified  answer  may  be  submitted  without  the 
slightest  hesitation: 

].  It  is  undeniably  right  and  proper  to  keep  this  distinction  in  mind 
so  far  as  it  pertains  to  the  meeting  of  the  different  needs  of  the 
two 'sections.  Where  great  masses  of  children  come  to  school  with 

(8) 


little  or  no  ability  to  speak  the  English  language  and  with  scant 
conception  if  any  of  American  ideals,  their  needs  are  not  the  same 
as  those  of  children  who  have  been  reared  in  typical  American  homes 
and  have  spoken  the  English  language  from  their  infancy.  The 
course  of  study  and  the  methods  of  instruction  ought  by  all  means 
to  be  adapted  to  the  special  needs  of  these  children.  It  would  be 
well  nish  criminal  for  this  not  to  be  done. 

2.  It  is  on  the  other  harid  unqualifiedly  wrong  and  improper  tcnnake 
this  distinction  In  way  of  discrimination  against' either  group  of 
children,  or  by  way  of  giving  to  either  an  inadequate  opportunity 
to  secure  an  education  of  the  kind  best  suited  to  its  needs. 

In  other  words  differentiation  between  the  two  sections  is  alto- 
gether right,  but  discrimination  is  altogether  wrong.  There  ought  to 
be  a  difference  in  the  type  of  education  offered  but  none  whatever  in 
its  value  or  its  effectiveness. 

This  distinction  is  not  an  easy  one  to  hold  in  mind  without  con- 
fusion and  without  prejudice. 

The  first  half  of  the  statement,  namely  that  methods  of  instruc- 
tion ought  to  be  adapted  to  specific  reeds  will  perhaps  be  accepted 
without  argument,  whatever  the  difficulties  may  be  in  putting  the 
principle  into  intelligent  practice. 

On  the  other  hand  the  second  half  of  the  statement,  namely  that 
the  Mexican  children  are  entitled  to  an  education  just  as  much 
adapted  to  their  needs  as  that  of  the  American  children  is  to  theirs, 
and  if  need  be  costing  just  as  much  money,  may  possibly  require  some 
argument  in  its  support.  The  following  propositions  are  therefore 
submitted  by  way  of  argument: 

1.     The  argument   of  a  common  humanity. 

-.  The  fact  that  neither  the  Constitution  of  Texas  nor  the  School 
Laws  of  the  State  make  any  distinction  between  the  children  of 
native  birth  and  those  born  in  other  countries.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
a  case  was  quite  recently  passed  upon  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Texas  in  which  the  holding  was  definitely  made  that  a  child  of 
foreign  birth  but  residing  in  the  State  of  Texas  is  entitled  to  free 
school  privileges  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  is  a  child  born  in 
the  State  of  Texas. 

'.'>.  The  future  of  the  city  of  El  Paso  depends  upon  the  prosperity  and 
enlightenment  of  both  its  native  born  citizens  and  its  citizens  of 
foreign  birth. 

4.  The  very  location  of  El  Paso  gives  it  a  place  of  international 
importance.  It  therefore  has  international  duties.  The  import- 
ance of  the  establishment  of  the  right  kind  of  relations  and  feelings 
between  the  two  republics  is  a  matter  too  obvious  to  admit  of 
denial.  The  school  system  of  El  Paso,  probably  more  than  that 
of  any  other  city  in  the  United  States,  bears  a  part  of  the  re- 
sponsibiliy  for  building  up  the  right  kind  of  relationships  between 
this  country  and  Mexico. 

These  considerations  should  make  it  clear  that  while  it  is  per- 
fectly right  and  proper  for  the  education  offered  "South  of  the  tracks" 


to  be  of  a  somewhat  different  kind  from  that  offered  "North  of  the 
tracks/  it  is  altogether  wrong  and  improper  to  refrain  from  giving  to 
either  side  an  education  as  helpful  and  if  need  be  as  expensive  as  that 
given  on  the  other  side. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  a  man  can  believe  in  foreign  missionary 
work  or  in  Christianity  or  even  in  democracy  or  common  humanity 
and  yet  be  unwilling  to  give  to  any  group  of  children  in  his  own  city 
a  fair  share  of  the  money  necessary  to  secure  for  them  educational 
facilities  in  accordance  with  their  needs. 

The  foregoing  statement  of  conditions  as  they  are  in  the  city  of 
El  Paso  would  suggest  that  the  educational  problems  confronting  the 
schools  of  the  city  may  be  classified  in  the  following  groups: 

1.  Practically    all    those    general    educational    problems    that    must    be 

met  by  the  schools  in  any  other  American  city. 

2.  Those  special  problems  which  confront  any  American  city  growing 
so  rapidly  that  its  population  is  practically  doubled  in  ten  years. 

3.  The  very  specific  problem  of  providing  for  the  needs  of  large  num- 
bers of  Mexican  children  many  of  whom  are  unfamiliar  with  the 
English  language  or  with  American  ideals 

•1.  The  incidental  but  nevertheless  highly  important  problems  of  help- 
ing to  foster  the  right  kind  of  sentiment  and  relations  between  the 
United  States  and  our  sister  republic  of  Mexico. 

To  what  extent  the  city  is  succeeding  in  solving  these  groups  of 
problems  will  occupy  the  attention  of  the  remaining  portion  of  this 
report. 


II.     TO  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

The  Independent  School  District  of  the  City  of  El  Paso  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  organized  under  the  general  school  laws  of  the 
State  of  Texas. 

The  anomalous  feature  of  the  situation  lies  in  the  fact  that  care- 
ful search  has  failed  to  reveal  any  record  of  the  data  when  such  or- 
ganization took  place,  or  even  any  evidence  that  it  ever  took  place  at 
all.  Under  the  laws  of  the  state  the  people  of  the  city  may  hold  an 
election  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  city  will  take  charge  of  its 
own  school  affairs  and  organize  its  own  independent  school  district. 
No  one  in  El  Paso  recollects  that  such  an  election  was  ever  held  nor 
does  any  record  show  that  such  was  ever  the  case. 

However,  in  1894  a  citizen  of  El  Paso  brought  suit  against  the 
city  to  enjoin  against  the  collection  of  school  taxes,  setting  up  the  al- 
legation that  the  school  district  had  never  been  actually  created  by 
the  vote  of  the  people  and  hence  that  it  had  no  legal  existence  and 
no  right  to  collect  school  taxes. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  held  that  even  though  there  was 
no  record  that  the  independent  district  had  actually  been  created,  there 

(10) 


was  nevertheless  no  reason  for  assuming  that  it  had  never  been  created ; 
and  that  the  mere  fact  that  it  was  then  in  existence  and  that  it  had 
existed  for  some  years  and  had  been  collecting  school  taxes  was  in  it- 
self an  evidence  that  it  had  at  some  time  been  created.  In  other 
words  if  you  see  a  house  you  may  not  know  who  built  it  or  when,  but 
the  very  fact  that  you  see  it  shows  that  somebody  must  have  built 
it  at  some  time. 

This  rather  liberal  and  constructive  holding  on  the  part  of  the 
Supreme  Court  left  the  school  district  of  El  Paso  in  existence,  but  left 
it  in  a  decidedly  anomalous  condition.  In  the  words  of  one  of  the  city 
officials,  it  is  ''neither  flesh  nor  fowl  nor  good  red  herring."  It  is  un- 
like any  other  independent  school  district  in  Texas  and  no  one  knows 
its  exact  relationship  to  the  city  government  of  El  Paso. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  when  a  Texas  city  organizes  its  school 
as  an  independent  school  district,  the  school  district  has  an  existence 
practically  distinct  from  that  of  the  municipality.  The  boundaries  of 
the  school  district  may  or  may  not  be  the  same  as  those  of  the  city. 
In  Houston,  for  instance,  the  boundaries  of  the  school  district  include 
a  large  scope  of  territory  formerly  known  as  District  25,  which  has 
been  annexed  for  school  purposes  only  and  is  not  in  any  way  a  portion 
of  the  city  of  Houston  itself. 

Such  city  independent  school  districts  when  once  regularly  es- 
tablished, are  subject  to  the  general  school  laws  of  the  State.  They 
are  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter  only  when  such  pro- 
visions of  the  city  charter  are  not  in  conflict  with  the  general  school 
law.  Such  districts  have  power  to  levy  and  collect  their  own  taxes  such 
as  may  be  voted  by  the  people.  The  constitution  formerly  limited  this 
tax  to  50  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars,  but  this  limit  has  recently  been 
removed  by  a  constitutional  amendment.  Such  independent  school 
districts  also  have  the  right  to  vote  their  own  bonds  for  school  pur- 
poses, subject  to  the  constitution  and  the  general  school  laws  of  the 
State.  The  rate  of  taxation  and  the  amount  of  bonded  indebtedness 
of  the  independent  school  district  are  separate  and  distinct  from  those 
of  the  city  and  do  not  apply  as  against  the  amount  of  those  allowed 
to  the  city  itself. 

This  situation  does  not  exist  in  El  Paso.  The  mayor  signs  all 
checks  providing  for  school  expenditures.  While  this  right  has  been 
exercised  in  a  very  conservative  manner  it  nevertheless  could  be  exer- 
cised in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  much  embarrassment  both  to  city  and 
school  districts. 

Elections  for  school  bonds  are  called  by  the  city  officials  and  not 
by  the  school  board.  The  city  government  names  the  amount  of  the 
bond  issue  to  be  voted  for.  Quite  recently  the  school  board  estimated 
that  it  was  necessary  to  receive  $850,000  from  a  bond  issue  in 
order  to  provide  school  grounds  and  buildings  such  as  were  needed. 
The  city  government  included  only  $500,000.00  for  school  purposes  in 

(11) 


the  issrc  of  bonds  to  be  voted  upon.  This  reduction  was  apparently 
not  made  from  any  unfriendliness  to  the  school  system  but  from  the 
fact  that  the  entire  amount  asked  for  by  the  board  could  not  be  in- 
cluded without  going  beyond  the  amount  allowed  by  the  charter  to  be 
issued  by  the  city.  In  other  words  the  school  bond  issue  was  added 
in  with  the  bonds  needed  for  water,  paving,  and  other  necessities  of 
the  city. 

It  would  seem  to  a  layman  in  legal  affairs  that  the  independent 
school  district  of  El  Paso  either  does  exist  or  does  not  exist;  and  that, 
if  it  exists  at  all,  it  exists  with  ail  the  rights  and  powers  conferred 
up;m  it  by  the  general  school  laws  of  the  state,  as  well  as  with  the 
limitations  provided  by  these  laws.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  may  be 
frankly  recognized  that  it  is  better  for  any  relationship  in  life  to  be 
:learly  defined  than  for  it  to  be  left  in  such  condition  that  it  may  be 
misunderstood.  It  is  therefore  very  respectfully  suggested  that  steps 
should  be  taken  to  make  clear  any  features  in  the  exact  legal  status 
3f  the  independent  school  district  of  El  Paso  which  are  not  now  clear 
Legal  steps  should  be  instituted  to  determine  whether  the  schools  of 
El  Paso  really  form  an  independent  school  district  or  whether  they  are 
merely  a  branch  of  the  city  government.  If  the  independent  school 
district  is  definitely  held  not  to  exist,  steps  should  yet  be  taken  to  hold 
an  election  to  establish  such  a  district. 

On  the  other  hand  if  it  should  be  held  that  such  a  district  does 
exist  it  might  yet  be  wise  to  amend  the  city  charter  by  saying  dis- 
tinctly that  the  city  schools  are  subject  to  the  general  school  laws  of 
the  State  of  Texas. 

If  the  latter  course  were  taken  and  it  were  definitely  recognized 
that  the  schools  of  El  Paso  are  to  be  controlled  by  the  independent 
school  district  and  not  by  the  city  it  would  work  to  the  advantage  of 
both  corporate  bodies.  The  school  district  on  one  hand  could  call 
its  own  elections  and  submit  the  amount  of  tax  rate  and  of  bond  issue 
to  be  voted  upon  by  the  people.  It  could  determine  whether  it  pre- 
ferred to  have  its  own  assessor  and  collector  or  to  make  arrangements 
for  using  those  officials  provided  by  the  city. 

On  the  other  hand  the  board  would  no  longer  have  a  right  to  call 
upon  the  city  government  to  supplement  the  school  fund  by  appro- 
priations from  the  general  revenue.  It  could  no  longer  ask  the  city 
government  to  pay  for  such  bonds  as  might  hereafter  be  voted  by  the 
people  for  school  buildings  and  in  the  name  of  the  independent  school 
district.  It  would  in  this  manner  seem  to  be  to  the  best  interest  of 
all  concerned  that  the  relationship  between  the  city  schools  and  the 
city  government,  and  the  exact  legal  status  of  the  independent  school 
district  of  El  Paso  should  be  decided  so  clearly  as  to  leave  no  possible 
room  for  future  misunderstanding. 


(12) 


HI.     THE  SCHOOL  BOARD. 

The  Civ  School  Board  of  El  Paso  is  at  present  (under  the  some- 
what anomalous  conditions  outlined  in  the  preceding  sections)  elected 
for  a  term  of  two  years  at  an  election  held  in  April  each  year.  Four 
members  are  elected  one  year  and  three  the  next.  No  other  officers 
are  voted  upon  at  the  election  of  school  board  members  and  the  _elec- 
tion  is  from  the  city  at  large.  The  board  at  present  is  constituted  as 
follows: 

"1.     Charles    S.    Ward,    President.     Newspaper    man.     First    elected    in 

!!>20.     Term   exoires    in    April.    1922. 
2.     Mrs.  H.  E.  Stevenson,  Vice  President.     Housewife.     First  elected  in 

1921.     Term   expires   in   April,    !!>-.">. 
:>.     K.    Gordon   Perry,   Secretary.     Dealer   in   automobiles.     First   elected 

in   1921.     Term  expires  in   April,   1923. 
I.     \V.  S.  Clayton,  grain  and  feed  dealer.     First  elected  in  191(5.     Term 

expires  in  April,  1922. 

.">.     Mrs.  W.  R.  Brown.     Housewife.     First  elected  in   1921.     Term  ex- 
pires  in   April,    1923. 
(i.     W.  T.  Power.     Federal  government  employe.     First  elected  in  1921. 

Term  expire?   in  April,  1923. 

7.     Dr.    J.    H.    Gambrell.     Physician.     Appointed    to    fill    a    vacancy    in 
May,   1921.     Term  expires  April,   1922. 

A  study  of  the  forgoing  shows  that  one  member  of  the  board  has 
been  a  member  for  practically  five  and  one-half  years,  one  member 
has  been  connected  with  the  board  for  a  year  and  a  half,  while  five 
members  have  been  connected  with  the  schools  for  less  than  nine 
months  each. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  even  with  the  best  of  intentions,  with 
the  best  of  intelligence  and  the  best  of  other  qualifications  a  school 
board  is  greatly  handicapped  if  a  majority  of  its  members  have  had 
less  than  a  year's  experience  and  familiarity  with  the  school  affairs  of 
the  system. 

If  a  new  man  is  employed  in  any  given  position  'of  importance  it 
is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  he  will  reach  his  state  of  greatest  use- 
fulness to  the  concern  within  the  first  year  of  his  employment. 

The  task  of  the  school  board  member  is  at  best  not  an  easy  one. 
It  calls  for  a  very  high  type  of  qualifications  on  the  part  of  the  one 
serving  the  public  in  this  capacity.  To  secure  the  very  highest  service 
which  a  school  board  is  capable  of  rendering  requires  some  little  ex- 
perience. Any  man  or  woman  taking  up  a  new  line  of  work  is  likely, 
to  make  some  mistakes  at  the  beginning  of  his  term.  School  board 
members  when  intelligent,  honest  and  efficient  ought  to  be  continued 
in  office  until  they  at  least  develop  that  familiarity  with  school  affairs 
which  leads  to  the  most  efficient  service. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  school  affairs  ought  to  be  nonsectarian 
without  the  intrusion  of  either  sectarian  or  partisan  issue.  If  such 
terms  as  Democrat  or  Republican,  Northern  or  Southern,  Catholic  or 

(13) 


Anti-Catholic  find  their  way  into  the  administration  of  school  affairs, 
the  schools  necessarily  suffer  thereby.  It  makes  no  difference  who  it 
is  that  introduces  such  terms,  the  effect  is  necessarily  bad.  If  these 
issues  are  once  introduced  it  may  become  necessary  for  people  holding 
opposite  views  to  make  a  fight  concerning  these  issues.  Such  a  con- 
test whether  it  be  of  a  defensive  nature  or  offensive,  is  necessarily  a 
detriment  to  the  school  system. 

It  is  not  right  and  not  American  to  seek  the  election  of  any  teacher 
because  of  the  fact  that  she  belongs  to  some  special  church  or  to  some 
special  political  party.  Similarly  it  is  not  right  and  not  American  to 
refuse  to  elect  a  teacher  because  of  the  church  or  the  party  to  which, 
she  belongs.  Church  differences  and  party  differences  have  absolutely 
no  place  in  the  administration  of  school  affairs. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  report  that  such  issues  have  at  certain 
times  in  the  past  been  introduced  into  the  administrating  of  the  El  Paso 
schools.  If  this  is  true  it  may  as  well  be  recognized  that  the  general 
effect  on  the  schools  cannot  have  been  otherwise  than  harmful.  This 
statement  is  true  without  any  regard  to  the  question  as  to  which  party 
may  have  been  to  blame  for  the  injection  of  such  issues. 

It  may  also  be  accepted  as  a  truism  that  for  a  successful  adminis- 
tration of  public  school  affairs  it  is  an  absolute  necessity  that  there  be 
harmony  of  action.  If  a  board  of  seven  members  habitually  lines  up 
on  the  basis  of  four  against  three  or  five  against  two  the  administra- 
tion of  school  affairs  is  necessarily  handicapped.  If  there  is  some  minor 
issue  involved,  it  is  ordinarily  better  to  have  all  seven  of  the  members 
either  on  the  one  side  or  on  the  other  side,  instead  of  having  them 
divided. 

As  a  matter  of  course  wherever  seven  intelligent  and  honest  men 
are  involved  there  will  naturally  be  differences  in  opinion  on  specific 
subjects  among  these.  When  a  vote  on  any  one  subject  is  taken  the 
majority  should  be  gracefully  accepted  and  the  same  lineup  should  not 
necessarily  occur  on  the  next  question. 

An  inspection  of  the  book  in  which  the  minutes  of  the  school  board 
meetings  are  recorded  shows  that  during  1919  the  board  had  held  42 
meetings;  during  1920  28  meetings,  and  during  1.921,  24  meetings. 
Unless  in  unusual  cases  it  would  seem  that  42  meetings  in  one  year 
is  a  very  large  number.  The  holding  of  24  meetings  would  be  a  sug- 
gestion of  improved  conditions.  During  1921  there  were  four  meet- 
ings in  January  and  in  June  but  none  in  October  and  December. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  El  Paso  school  board  that  the  matter 
of  the  appointment  of  teachers  has  been  left  very  largely  in  the  hands 
of  the  superintendent.  The  general  tendency  seems  to  be,  and  very 
properly  so,  to  leave  the  strictly  educational  aspects  of  a  public  school 
system  largely  in  the  superintendent's  hands. 


(14) 


IV.     SCHOOL  FINANCES 

The  schools  of  El  Paso  are  supported  in  part  by  the  per  capita 
apportionment  from  the  State  available  school  fund  and  partly  by  a 
local  tax  for  school  purposes  at  the  rate  of  50c  on  $100.  This  was 
the  highest  rate  authorized  by  the  constitution  at  the  time  it  was  levied 
but  since  that  time  this  limit  has  been  removed.  The  voters  of__El_ 
Paso  could  if  they  see  proper,  vote  a  larger  rate  of  taxation  for  the 
support  of  their  city  schools.  As  a  matter  of  fact  no  one  familiar 
with  El  Paso  school  affairs  can  fail  to  realize  that  if  the  schools  are 
to  continue  to  function  at  their  present  rate  of  efficiency  it  will  be 
necessary  for  more  money  to  be  provided  from  some  source. 

In  addition  to  increasing  the  tax  rate,  two  other  methods  of  ob- 
taining more  money  are  possible.  One  method  which  has  been  used 
in  times  past  is  for  the  city  government  to  supplement  this  school  tax 
by  a  special  appropriation  from  general  city  revenues.  The  city  gov- 
ernment did  this  last  year  to  such  an  extent  that  the  actual  money 
furnished  for  school  maintenance  amounted  to  59c  on  a  hundred  dol- 
lars instead  of  50c. 

The  third  method  available  is  that  of  increasing  the  percentage 
of  value  at  which  the  property  in  the  city  is  rendered  for  taxation. 
The  total  assessed  valuation  in  1921  was  $97,000,000  on  a  basis  of 
70  per  cent.  Previously  the  basis  of  60  per  cent  was  used.  It  would, 
of  course,  be  possible  in  the  future  to  make  this  higher  still. 

The  question  as  to  which  of  these  three  plans  should  be  used  in 
the  future  would  depend  largely  on  whether  the  city  of  El  Paso  is  held 
to  possess  an  independent  school  district  organized  under  the  general 
laws  of  the  State  with  the  full  powers  which  those  laws  confer  upon 
the  said  independent  district.  If  such  is  held  to  be  the  case  the 
method  of  supplemental  appropriation  from  the  city  gorvernment 
would  be  an  impossibility  but  either  of  the  other  two  methods  could 
be  used.  The  matter  of  an  increase  in  the  tax  rate  would  have  to  be 
passed  upon  by  the  people  themselves  at  an  election  to  be  called  by  the 
school  board. 

A  comparative  study  of  the  taxable  wealth,  of  several  of  the  cities 
of  Texas  for  each  pupil  enumerated  in  the  scholastic  census  of  1920-21 
is  here  given  as  compiled  from  figures  given  out  by  the  State  Depart- 
ment of  Education. 


City 

Total   Taxable 
Wealth 

Scholastic 
Enrollment 

Taxable  Wealth 
for  Each  Pupil 
Enumerated    in 
Census 

Dallas  

$175,379,475  00 

33,000 

555,315  00 

San  Antonio  
Galveston  
El  Paso  

150,472,980.00 
53,662,905.00 
83,000,000  00 

33,219 

8,955 
18,157 

4,529.00 

5,966.00 
4,570.00 

From  this  comparison  it  will  be  seen  that  El  Paso  has  slightly 
more  wealth  to  depend  upon  for  taxation  for  the  education  of  each 
school  child  on  her  census  roll  than  has  San  Antonio,  having  $4.570 
for  that  purpose  while  San  Antonio  has  $4,529.  On  the  other  hand 
HI  Paso  has  smaller  wealth  to  depend  upon  for  each  pupil  than  has 
Dallas  with  $5,315  or  Galveston  with  $5,960.  It  therefore  follows  that 
if  El  Paso  expects  to  do  as  much  for  her  children  as  can  be  done  by 
either  Dallas  or  Galveston,  it  will  be  necessary  for  her  either  to  have 
a  higher  tax  rate  or  a  higher  rate  for  the  rendition  of  property  than 
those  of  other  cities. 

The  following  figures  also  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  State 
Department  of  Education  show  what  certain  cities  of  Texas  spent 
in  the  school  year  1920-21  for  the  maintenance  of  the  schools  for  each 
pupil  actually  enrolled. 


City 

Total     Cost    of 
Maintenance    of 
Schools 

Total 
Enrollment 
in  School 

Maintenance 
for    Each    Pupil 
Enrolled 

Dallas 

$2,007,271.00 

28,647 

S70.00 

San   Antonio 

1,867,698.00 

27,547 

67jOO 

Houston  ... 
Galveston  

1,751,048.00 
321,630.00 

25,944 

6,128 

(57.00 
53.00 

El   Paso.... 

(594,283.00 

14,116 

49.00 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  El  Paso  last  year  expended  con- 
siderably less  upon  each  pupil  actually  enrolled  in  her  schools  than 
did  other  representative  cities  in  Texas. 

The  schedule  of  teachers'  salaries  now  in  use  in  the  city  schools 
of  El  Paso  is  fairly  good  although  it  is  not  by  any  means  the  best  in 
the  State  of  Texas.  In  actual  fact  it  is  not  so  good  as  it  seems  to 
be  on  first  perusal.  The  minimum  paid  teachers  regularly  employed 
in  the  elementary  grades  is  $1,000  per  year.  This  is  raised  by  annual 
increases  of  $50  for  ten  years  until  a  maximum  of  $1,500  is  reached. 

This  may  be  increased  by  summer  work,  by  training  to  the  ex- 
tent of  more  than  two  years  above  the  high  school,  and  by  various 
other  points  which  count  to  the  extent  of  $50  each  per  year.  How- 
ever, not  more  than  four  of  these  additional  points  can  be  counted 
as  additions  to  the  salary.  Accordingly  there  is  a  theoretical  maxi- 
mum of  SI. TOO  per  year  for  grade  teachers.  However,  a  careful  study 
of  the  payroll  brought  out  the  fact  that  only  one  grade  teacher  was 
receiving  $1.700  a  year  while  three  were  receiving  $1,650  and  seven 
SI  .600.  To  all  practical  intents  and  purposes  during  the  current 
school  year  the  maximum  salary  for  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools 
was  $1.500  a  year.  The  corresponding  maximum  in  Dallas  was  $1,800 
and  in  Houston  $1,700  reached  in  seven  yearly  increases  of  $100  each. 


The  schedule  is  $100  per  year  higher  for  teaching  the  work  of  the 
first  year  in  the  high  school  and  $200  per  year  higher  for  teaching 
in  the  high  school  above  the  first  year.  It  is  difficult  to  see  why  this 
d'stinction  should  be  made  between  work  in  the  first  year  of  the  high 
school  and  that  of  other  years.  Headship  of  a  department  carries 
with  it  an  increase  of  $100  or  $200  a  year. 

"Teachers  of  special  subjects  in  the  high  school"  are  not  elected 
on  a  specific  salary  schedule;' 

The  maximum  salary  for  principals  of  elementary  schools  during 
the  year  1921-22  was  $2,600,  and  was  received  by  each  of  two 
principals. 

At  one  time  several  years  ago  salaries  received  by  teachers  in  the 
El  Paso  schools  were  the  highest  paid  in  the  State.  This  is  not  the 
case  today  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  El  Paso  has  raised  salaries  recently. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  City  Superintendent  of  Schools  the  aver- 
a~e  salary  paid  El  Paso  grade  teachers  was  $800  in  1919,  $1,000  in 
1920  and  in  1921-22  was  $1,200  plus  a  bonus  of  $150.  This  record 
of  progress  creditable  though  it  was  did  not  quite  keep  pace  with  the 
progress  made  by  other  cities  in  the  State.  Accordingly  El  Paso  ac- 
tually pushing  ahead  in  a  very  creditable  manner  has  fallen  back  rela- 
tively among  the  other  cities  of  the  State  in  the  matter  of  teachers' 
salaries. 

Good  teachers  should  be  paid  as  good  salaries  as  can  possibly 
be  secured  for  them.  It  is  to  the  interest  of  a  city  to  pay  her  teach- 
ers such  salaries  as  will  hold  a  reasonable  number  of  the  best  of  them 
from  year  to  year.  In  the  El  Paso  schools  this  year  one-fourth  of  all 
the  teachers  were  not  in  the  system  last  year.  Perhaps  the  fact  that 
s:)me  other  cities  in  Texas  have  been  making  a  bid  and  offering  finan- 
cial inducements  for  the  best  teachers  of  El  Paso  has  had  something 
to  do  with  the  large  number  of  changes. 

The  business  office  of  the  El  Paso  schools  seems  to  be  functioning 
well,  though  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  red  tape  connected  with 
it  and  it  would  seem  that  a  better  distribution  of  departments  might 
be  made  in  such  manner  as  to  result  in  a  more  definite  location  of  re- 
sponsibility. In  any  large  system  of  city  schools  there  are  the  fol- 
lowing subdivisions  under  the  business  department: 

The  Budget. 

The  Purchasing. 

The  Repairs. 

The  Supplies. 

The  Free  Text  Books. 

The  Accounting. 


(17) 


Ordinarily  it  is  considered  best  to  have  all  these  items  under  the 
general  management  of  some  one  man  who  is  not  connected  with  the 
educational  department  of  the  schools  but  who  works  directly  under 
the  superintendent,  is  responsible  to  him  and  reports  to  him. 

If  the  system  is  large  enough  to  employ  assistants  to  the  busi- 
ness representative  they  ordinarily  place  each  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
subdivisions  outlined. 

In  the  El  Paso  schools,  although  the  work  seems  to  be  efficiently 
done  there  is  nevertheless  a  considerable  amount  of  overlapping  of 
these  subdivisions,  and  the  entire  department  overlaps  in  some  measure 
the  educational  department  of  the  schools. 

For  instance  it  is  required  that  the  Superintendent  of  Schools 
should  sign  every  order  issued  for  a  purchase  of  any  kind  by  the  El 
Paso  schools.  The  assistant  superintendent  attends  to  most  of  the  de- 
tails of  making  the  purchases. 

It  is  contrary  to  the  usual  custom  in  cities  for  the  Superintendent 
of  Schools  to  be  called  upon  for  his  signature  in  making  minor  pur- 
chases. If  he  gives  much  time  to  this  work  it  detracts  from  the  time 
he  should  give  to  the  instructional  side  of  the  schools;  and  if  he  gives 
little  time  to  it,  the  result  must  be  that  he  frequently  signs  orders  for 
minor  purchases  of  which  he  knows  little  or  nothing. 

At  present  there  are  two  or  three  people  connected  with  the  busi- 
ness office  anyone  of  whom  may  under  certain  conditions  order  things 
purchased.  It  would  seem  to  be  a  definite  improvement  if  there  were 
only  one  person  in  the  school  system  who  was  allowed  to  make  any 
purchase  whatever  and  if  he  were  required  to  send  a  written  order  for 
every  purchase,  and  if  no  bills  were  paid  except  when  presented  ac- 
companied by  this  written  order.  It  would  also  allow  more  time  for 
the  supervision  of  instruction  if  these  duties  were  not  laid  upon  anyone 
who  is  engaged  in  the  supervision  of  education. 

At  present  the  business  department  of  the  schools  is  really  in  the 
hands  of  five  people,  as  follows: 

The  superintendent  and  assistant  superintendent  who  sign  orders 
for  purchases  and  attend  to  the  details  of  making  them.  The  assistant 
superintendent  also  signs  all  checks. 

The  supervisor  of  buildings  who  manages  the  janitors,  supervises 
the  repairs,  and  makes  purchases  for  his  own  particular  department. 

The  keeper  of  supplies  who  has  charge  of  the  free  text  books  and 
the  supplies  of  various  kinds  and  makes  certain  of  the  purchases. 

The  accountant  who  keeps  all  the  books,  audits  all  the  bills,  pre- 
pares them  for  payment,  makes  vouchers  for  them  and  attends  to  the 
clerical  details  of  the  office. 

It  would  seem  best  for  the  superintendent  and  assistant  superin- 
tendent to  be  relieved  of  the  details  with  the  business  office  except 

(18) 


those  of  preparing  the  annual  budget.  Then  the  one  of  the  other  three 
persons  whom  the  board  considers  most  competent  could  be  appointed 
as  the  head  of  the  business  department  of  the  schools  and  charged  with 
the  responsibility  of  making  all  the  purchases,  signing  all  the  checks 
and  approving  all  bills. 

There  is  no  evidence  whatever  of  any  mismanagement  or  of  inac- 
curacy connected  with  the  business  department  of  the  El  Paso  schools. 
However,  a  redistribution  of  the  work  as  above  outlined  would  give 
more  time  for  the  supervision  of  instruction,  would  more  definitely 
locate  the  financial  responsibility  and  would  be  more  nearly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  custom  in  other  progressive  school  systems. 


V.     THE  SCHOOL  PLANT,  INCLUDING  BUILDINGS, 
GROUNDS  AND  EQUIPMENT 

El  Paso  has  sixteen  school  buildings  including  one  high  school 
building  and  fifteen  elementary  school  buildings  for  white  children  and 
one  school  building  for  colored  schildren. 

The  total  value  of  all  the  school  property  including  buildings, 
grounds  and  equipment  is  given  at  $1,895,340. 

The  entire  citizenship  of  El  Paso  is  vitally  interested  in  knowing 
whether  these  buildings  and  grounds  and  this  equipment  are  adequate 
to  meet  the  educational  needs  of  their  children. 

The  question  of  adequacy  of  school  grounds  depends  wholly  upon 
what  you  intend  to  do  with  those  grounds.  If  you  consider  them 
merely  as  breathing  grounds  where  the  children  may  be  allowed  to 
stand  and  breathe,  then  the  school  grounds  of  El  Paso  are  adequate. 
And  indeed  this  would  be  about  the  only  plea  upon  which  some  of  them 
could  possibly  be  claimed  adequate.  They  afford  standing  room  for 
the  children  but  little  more. 

The  high  school  grounds  are  in  a  class  to  themselves.  The  stadium 
affords  a  magnificent  opportunity  for  large  throngs  of  people  to  watch 
the  athletic  contests  of  comparatively  small  groups.  The  high  school 
grounds  are  greatly  superior  to  those  of  the  elementary  schools. 

Measured  by  the  commonly  accepted  standard  of  school  grounds 
to  be  used  as  playgrounds  and  recreational  centers,  there  is  not  one 
elementary  school  in  El  Paso  where  the  grounds  are  really  adequate. 
Measured  by  the  most  elementary  standards  of  common  use  very  few 
of  these  could  by  any  courtesy  be  considered  as  adequate. 

Of  the  fourteen  elementary  schools  for  white  children  not  one  of 
them  has  grounds  exceeding  one  block.  Five  of  them  have  grounds 
covering  one  block  and  the  other  nine  range  from  three-fourths  of  a 
block  to  one-fourth. 

(19) 


This  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  modern  idea  as  to  the  proper 
size  for  school  grounds.  As  one  illustration,  in  Houston  there  are 
numerous  school  sites  ranging  in  size  from  three  acres  to  seven  and  a 
half  acres.  For  a  large  modern  school  a  site  of  one  city  block  is 
considered  altogether  too  small. 

One  of  the  worst  cases  of  overcrowded  school  grounds  is  that  of 
the  Aoy  School,  where  more  than  2.000  children  have  enrolled  during 
the  current  school  year.  The  grounds  consist  of  one  city  block,  and 
this  has  been  almost  entirely  covered  by  the  buildings.  There  is  prac- 
tically no  playground  for  that  great  throng  of  children. 

The  Alamo  School  with  over  a  thousand  children  has  only  a  quar- 
ter of  a  block.  The  Franklin  School  with  (500  has  playgrounds  of  the 
same  size. 

The  smallness  of  the  school  grounds  is  one  of  those  causes  which 
have  almost  eliminated  the  playground  feature  from  the  city  schools 
of  our  country. 

Of  the  buildings  themselves  the  High  School  is  by  far  the  best  and 
most  modern.  With  building,  grounds  and  equipment  the  High  School 
is  easily  valued  at  §600,000  and  easily  represents  one-third  of  the 
value  of  the  entire  school  property  of  the  city  of  El  Paso.  It  is  prac- 
tically fireproof,  has  a  good  auditorium,  and  is  well  provided  with  shops, 
laboratories,  gymnasiums,  class  rooms  and  all  the  general  equipment 
of  a  good  modern  high  school. 

The  stadium  on  the  High  School  grounds  for  use  in  connection 
with  athletic  events,  is  the  one  outstanding  feature  of  school  equip- 
ment in  El  Paso.  It  is  one  feature  that  causes  the  El  Paso  schools 
to  be  known  and  remembered  over  a  large  portion  of  America.  It  is 
said  that  10.000  people  can  be  seated  in  it.  The  stadium  receives  a 
considerable  amount  of  use  each  year.  The  circular  floor  affords 
ample  space  as  a  drill  ground  for  the  high  school  pupils  in  their  mili- 
tary exercises. 

Altogether  the  High  School  plant  of  El  Paso  is  such  as  would  be 
(•-editable  in  a  city  of  a  million  inhabitants — so  far  as  it  goes. 

For  the  simple  fact  must  be  recognized  that  even  this  fine  plant  is 
not  large  enough  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  high  school  pupils  in  a  grow- 
ing modern  city  such  as  El  Paso  is.  The  building  was  designed  to 
accommodate  1.200  pupils  and  the  present  enrollment  is  about  1,700. 
This  indicates  even  here  a  -crowded  condition  which  is  at  the  expense 
of  the  best  interests  of  the  children  enrolled. 

The  simple  fact  is  that  El  Paso  even  now  needs  greater  high  school 
facilities  and  sooner  or  later  must  have  them. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  point  out  that  San  Antonio  now  has  two 
large  buildings  devoted  entirely  to  high  school  purposes  and  Dallas 
has  three.  Houston  has  two  senior  high  schools  and  four  junior  high 

(20) 


schools.  El  Paso  is  more  than  half  the  size  of  any  one  of  these  three 
cities.  It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  that  very  soon  it  will  be  absolutely 
necessary  for  her  to  have  more  than  one  high  school  building.  Refer- 
will  b:  made  later  on  in  this  report  to  the  matter  of  junior  higL 
schools. 

The  reason  that  El  Paso  school  people  have  not  said  more  about 
their  high  school  need  is  that  these  needs  are  completely  overshadowed 
by  the  needs  of  the  elementary  schools. 

If  the  high  school  plant  is  scarcely  adequate  the  elementary  school 
plant  is  grossly  inadequate.  If  any  one  has  the  slightest  doubt  of  this 
fact,  the  doubt  can  be  instantly  dispelled  by  the  following  fact: 

One-third  of  all  the  children  attending  the  elementary  -schools  of 
El  Paso  are  on  part-time  attendance. 

This  is  because  there  is  not  room  in  the  elementary  schools  of  the 
city  to  accommodate  all  the  children  at  the  same  time. 

These  part-time  classes  range  from  the  beginners  to  the  third 
grade. 

This  part-time  system  is  the  one  great  crying  evil  of  the  El  Paso 
schools.  Other  evils  or  difficulties  sink  into  insignificance  in  compari- 
son with  it. 

There  are  128  classes  on  part-time  attendance.  There  are  365 
teachers  in  the  elementary  schools  in  all.  This  means  that  slightly 
more  than  ore-third  of  the  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools  of  El 
Paso  are  not  given  the  opportunity  to  do  their  full  work,  and  slightly 
more  than  one-third  of  the  children  from  these  schools  are  deprived  of 
a  considerable  portion  of  their  opportunity  to  secure  an  education. 

These  12S  classes  do  not  include  the  kindergarten  children,  who 
quite  properly  attend  school  also  for  less  than  a  full  day.  The  dis- 
tribution of  these  128  classes  of  part-time  pupils  above  the  kinder- 
garten age,  as  furnished  in  figures  obtained  from  the  office  of  the  City 
Superintendent  of  Schools  is  as  follows: 

SOUTH  OF  THE  TRACKS— MEXICAN  DISTRICT 


Aoy 

Alamo 

Beall 

Franklin 

San  Jacinto. 


Number 

Part-Time 

Classes 


34 

IS 
1C. 
(i 


Total 80 

(21) 


NORTH  OF  THE  TRACKS— AMERICAN  DISTRICT 


School 


Classes 
Alta  Vista 


Number 
Part-Tiine 


18 


BaUey 

Grandview 

Highland   Park 6 

Lamar 

Morehead 

Manhattan 

Sunset 2 

Vilas 2 

Total - -is 

Take  as  the  worst  case  of  all  the  Aoy  School.  There  were  in  De- 
cember slightly  more  than  2,000  children  attending.  The  school 
grounds  consist  of  one  city  block  most  of  which  is  covered  with  build- 
ings. There  707  children  in  the  Low  First  and  High  First  grade- 
more  than  one-third  of  the  total  number  in  that  school.  These  chil- 
dren are  in  urgent  need  of  learning  to  speak  English,  and  it  takes  time 
to  learn  any  language.  The  children  clamor  for  this  privilege  and 
yet  thirty-four  out  of  the  fifty-one  classes  at  this  school  are  unable  to 
attend  for  more  than  one-half  of  the  school  day. 

It  may  be  observed  in  passing  that  there  are  limits  to  the  num- 
bers of  small  children  who  can  properly  be  handled  as  a  single  ad- 
ministrative unit  even  when  facilities  are  adequate  and  conditions 
favorable.  Many  reasons  could  be  given  why  it  is  not  advisable  that 
'2,000  elementary  school  children  should  be  crowded  together  in  one 
building.  This  is  sometimes  necessary  in  congested  districts  in  large 
cities  such  as  New  York  or  Chicago,  but  under  normal  conditions  it 
is  not  done  and  should  not  be  done.  In  even  the  largest  cities  of  the 
South  it  is  doubtful  if  another  school  building  could  be  found  where 
as  many  small  children  are  collected  as  at  Aoy. 

At  the  Alta  Vista  School,  attended  by  1,126,  mostly  Americans, 
there  are  18  classes  on  part-time  attendance. 

The  school  staff  has  made  heroic  efforts  to  overcome  these  handi- 
caps. Every  teacher  in  the  grades  puts  in  at  least  five  hours  with 
classes  each  day.  Many  of  the  teachers  whose  children  attend  for  a 
half  day  give  their  time  to  helping  with  backward  pupils  the  other 
half  day.  It  is  my  judgment  that  the  school  authorities  have  done 
everything  that  can  be  done  in  the  impossible  task  of  making  one  hour 
do  the  work  of  two  hours.  They  have  employed  numerous  ingenious 
devices.  Some  of  these  result  in  quite  unusual  and  somewhat  bizarre 
combinations  of  hours  for  certain  school  children.  For  instance,  I 
found  one  case  where  the  children  attend  from  10  to  12:30  and  from 

(22) 


3  to  4.  If  the  school  system  of  El  Paso  had  possessed  as  little  elas- 
ticity and  as  much  rigid  inflexibility  as  many  school  systems,  it  would 
have  cracked  under  the  strain  long  ago. 

And  yet  there  is  a  limit  to  what  human  ingenuity  can  do.  You 
cannot  use  machinery  with  souls  as  you  can  with  material  objects. 
You  can  easily  find  a  piece  of  machinery  which  will  enable  one  frail 
woman  to  lift  a  ton  of  ten  tons;  but  no  device  ever  invented  will 
enable  one  woman  to  properly  teach  TOO  little  children. 

Nor  will  any  device  in  the  world  enable  one  to  hurry  the  orderly 
process  of  nature  without  detriment  to  the  organism  involved.  You 
may  by  hot  house  processes  force  a  rose  to  bloom  in  half  the  time  it 
would  naturally  take;  but  it  is  hard  on  the  rose. 

No  device  of  human  ingenuity  can  cause  a  boy  to  digest  his  food 
in  one  hour  if  the  time  he  would  naturally  take  is  two  hours.  And  no 
school  teacher  or  superintendent  or  board  can  cause  him  to  learn  and 
digest  in  half  a  day  all  that  he  could  in  an  entire  day. 

The  simple  fact  about  it  is  that  English  speaking  children  coming 
from  good  American  homes  may  in  the  first  half  of  their  first  year  in 
school  get  along  without  any  serious  detriment  if  they  attend  school 
under  a  skillful  teacher  for  approximately  half  of  the  customary  school 
day.  Above  the  low  first  year  however,  such  curtailing  of  school  hours 
is  done  at  the  serious  disadvantage  of  the  child. 

With  Mexican  children  or  with  any  other  children, who  know  little 
or  nothing  of  the  English  language  a  full  day  is  needed  even  in  the 
low  first  grade. 

The  process  of  learning  English  is  largely  a  process  of  absorption, 
particularly  in  the  case  of  a  young  child;  and  absorption  is  a  process 
that  requires  time. 

These  facts  are  matters  of  common  knowledge  among  school  peo- 
ple the  world  over.  They  are  founded  upon  the  laws  of  nature  and 
neither  El  Paso  nor  any  other  community  can  hope  to  invade  the  laws 
of  nature. 

The  plan  of  school  administration  known  as  the  Gary  Plan  has 
many  excellent  features.  It  is  a  plan  that  was  especially  devised  to 
meet  conditions  as  they  existed  in  the  schools  of  Gary,  Indiana.  Its 
special  adaptability  to  conditions  existing  there  should  be  an  indica- 
tion that  it  would  not  be  adapted  to  meet  the  needs  of  cities  where 
conditions  are  radically  different  from  those  in  Gary;  just  as  the  fact 
that  a  key  will  readily  unlock  one  front  door  would  be  a  strong  indi- 
cation that  it  will  not  unlock  another  front  door  where  the  lock  is  alto- 
gether different. 

The  essence  of  the  Gary  Plan  is  that  it  is  founded  upon  what  is 
known  as  the  Study-work-play  program.  It  presupposes  a  large  audi- 
torium at  each  school  building  and  ample  school  grounds.  Fewer  than 
half  of  the  elementary  school  buildings  in  El  Paso  have  any  audi- 
toriums at  all  and  most  of  those  they  have  are  small.  From  the  point 

(If) 


of  v.'ew  of  the  Gary  Plan,  not  one  of  these  schools  has  ample  play- 
grounds and  most  of  them  have  no  playground  to  speak  of  at  all.  For 
these  reasons  the  use  of  the  Gary  Plan  in  the  El  Paso  schools  is  under 
present  conditions  an  impossibility  even  if  it  were  generally  agreed 
upon  as  a  desirability. 

Furthermore  even  the  best  friends  of  the  Gary  Plan  are  unwilling 
for  it  to  be  looked  upon  simply  as  a  money  saver.  It  may  in  general 
be  admitted  in  school  work  as  in  other  business,  any  plan  which  un- 
dertakes to  make  one  dollar  do  the  work  of  two,  or  to  make  half  a 
loaf  of  bread  do  the  work  of  a  whole  loaf  is  more  or  less  on  the  order 
of  get-rich-quick  schemes  generally,  and  is  quite  likely  to  end  in  dis- 
appointment if  not  in  disaster. 

Some  recent  tests  given  by  the  assistant  superintendent  of  the 
schools  to  all  the  third  grade  children  in  the  city  proved  conclusively 
that  those  third  grade  children  who  are  now  on  part-time  attendance 
or  have  been  in  preceding  grades,  are  decidedly  weaker  in  their  general 
school  work  than  are  those  children  who  have  had  the  advantage  of 
a  full  day's  schooling  each  day.  This  test  confirmed  what  an  ex- 
perienced school  man  would  very  strongly  have  surmised  even  if  the 
test  had  never  been  given. 

So  long  as  one-third  of  all  the  children  in  the  elementary  schools 
of  El  Paso  are  unavoidably  on  half-day  attendance  no  one  can  seriously 
contend  that  the  elementary  school  buildings  of  the  city  are  adequate 
in  number  or  in  size. 

The  report  of  Superintendent  R.  J.  Tighe  for  1914-15  shows  that 
during  that  year  the  total  net  enrollment  in  the  El  Paso  schools  was 
(i,7()l.  During  the  current  school  year  of  1921-22  the  enrollment  will 
be  double  that  amount.  During  the  intervening  seven  years  the  new 
high  school  building  has  been  built  and  occupied  and  almost  outgrown. 
In  the  same  time  very  little  has  been  done  for  the  elementary  schools. 
The  only  out-and-out  new  building  that  has  been  erected  for  elemen- 
tary school  purposes  has  been  the  Manhattan.  The  new  Franklin  with 
its  twelve  rooms  has  'displaced  seven  old  rooms.  Some  fourteen  rooms 
have  been  added  to  Real!  and  seven  to  Aoy,  displacing  a  number  of 
older  ones.  One  new  building  has  been  annexed  to  the  city,  serving 
mainly  the  territory  annexed  with  it.  These  are  practically  all  the  ad- 
ditions that  have  been  made  during  the  seven  years  in  which  the  school 
population  has  been  doubling. 

In  other  words  the  city  has  been  growing  rapidly  and  has  been  so 
busy  with  other  things  that  it  has  forgotten  to  keep  up  its  school  build- 
ing program.  The  time  has  come  when  radical  measures  must  be 
taken  to  make  up  for  this  past  neglect. 

Furthermore,  it  may  as  well  be  recognized  that  even  the  $500,000 
bond  issue  for  school  purposes  voted  by  the  people  on  December  27, 
will  not  put  the  elementary  schools  in  the  condition  in  which  they 

(24) 


ought  to  be.  It  will,  of  course,  be  possible  to  build  several  new  schools 
with  this  amount,  but  when  one  considers  the  purchase  of  sites,  the 
cost  of  building  and  of  equipment,  it  becomes  evident  that  this  money 
will  not  go  very  far,  though  it  will  help  greatly.  It  is  a  great  pity  that 
the  entire  $850,000  originally  asked  for  by  the  board  could  not  have 
been  secured  for  the  children. 

So  much  for  the  question  of  the  adequacy  of  the  school  buildings 
of  El  Paso  so  far  as  pertains  to  -mere  numbers  and  size.  When  it  comes 
to  the  matter  of  quality  it  may  be  frankly  stated  that  only  three  of 
them  could  reasonably  be  classed  as  up-to-date  buildings  of  fireproof 
construction  and  of  conformity  to  best  modern  standards.  These  three 
are  the  High  School,  the  Manhattan  School  and  the  Alta  Vista  School. 

Such  buildings  as  the  Bailey  and  Morehead  were  creditable  build- 
ings in  the  city  when  they  were  erected  but  they  have  well  nigh  out- 
lived their  usefulness.  In  many  cities  such  buildings  are  being  torn 
down  to  give  place  to  modern  fireproof  structures  with  larger  grounds, 
auditoriums  and  other  appurtenances  of  first  class  schools.  A  few  well 
selected  fires  in  some  of  the  school  buildings,  with  good  insurance,  would 
be  to  the  city  a  blessing  in  a  rather  thin  disguise. 

Most  of  the  school  rooms,  though  not  all,  seem  to  be  as  nearly 
well  lighted  and  ventilated  as  the  date  and  style  of  their  construction 
would  allow.  At  Beall  School  there  are  a  number  of  rooms  where  the. 
windows  are  so  frosted  as  to  make  the  lighting  painfully  poor.  This 
frosting  should  be  removed  from  the  upper  part  of  the  window  sash. 
At  the  same  building  there  is  one  annex  where  the  entrance  to  the  boys' 
toilets  and  the  girls'  toilets  are  immediately  adjacent.  This  also 
should  be  corrected  at.  once.  At  the  Grandview  recently  acquired  by 
annexation  to  the  city,  most  of  the  rooms  have  but  one  door  leading 
into  the  hallway  and  that  so  situated  that  in  case  of  fire  there  would 
be  serious  danger.  This  also  should  be  remedied  at  once. 

In  general  the  buildings  impress  a  visitor  as  being  about  as  well 
cared  for  as  such  buildings  can  be  under  the  circumstances.  The  toilet 
rooms  in  the  main  are  clean;  but  in  dark  places  and  with  old  fixtures 
and  with  old  crowded  conditions  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  keep  them 
from  having  foul  odors.  Principals  and  janitors  alike  however  seem 
alive  to  the  necessity  of  keeping  them  as  clean  a^.  the  circumstances 
would  permit. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  groups  of  little  children  sitting 
in.  long  dark  hallways  for  purposes  of  recreation,  and  able  to  have 
this  space  for  only  a  portion  of  the  school  day  on  account  of  crowded 
conditions. 

In  regard  to  the  matter  of  equipment  it  may  be  stated  that  the 
new  schools  of  El  Paso  are  for  the  most  part  well  equipped  while  the 
older  ones  for  the  most  part  are  not.  Maps  and  globes  seem  to  be 
fairly  plentiful.  Even  the  older  desks  are  for  the  most  part  fairly  well 
cared  for.  The  equipment  in  Domestic  Science  in  some  of  the  older 


centers  is  evidently  old  but  the  newer  equipment  is  modern.  The 
chemical  and  physical  laboratories  and  the  printing  shop  at  the  High 
School  building  seem  well  equipped. 

So  far  as  was  observed  all  the  primary  rooms  of  the  city  are 
equipped  with  rigid  school  desks,  non-adjustable,  fastened  to  the  floor. 
In  many  modern  schools  elsewhere  the  primary  grades  are  equipped 
with  tables  and  chairs  not  unlike  those  used  in  the  kindergarten. 
These  cost  less  than  the  rigid  desk  and  in  addition  have  the  merit  of 
allowing  greater  freedom  of  movement  and  posture  on  the  part  of  the 
children.  A  few  rooms  in  the  elementary  schools  are  equipped  with 
movable  Moulthrop  Desk  Chairs,  and  in  some  instances  the  teachers 
express  themselves  as  preferring  the  rigid  desks. 

It  may  in  general  be  observed  that  the  tendency  in  modern  schools 
is  to  do  away  with  the  rigid  desk  fastened  to  the  floor,  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  and  substitute  as  the  occasion  may  allow  seats  that  are' 
movable,  in  sizes  sufficiently,  varied  to  make  it  possible  to  furnish  each 
child  with  a  seat  suited  to  him. 


VI.     SUPERVISION 

The  supervisory  staff  in  the  El  Paso  schools  consists  of  the  super- 
intendent, one  assistant  superintendent  and  one  supervisor  for  each  of 
the  following:  Intermediate  grades,  primary  grades,  music,  penman- 
ship, drawing,  domestic  science,  manual  training. 

The  assistant  superintendent  gives  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
time  to  acting  as  purchasing  agent,  but  also  comes  in  touch  with  the 
intermediate  grades  and  the  high  school.  The  primary  supervisor  has 
charge  of  the  work  in  the  first  and  second  grades  only.  In  many  cities 
the  primary  department  includes  the  third  grade  also.  The  supervisor 
of  manual  training  has  the  direction  of  all  the  work  in  his  department 
including  that  of  the  high  school  and  the  elementary  grades,  but  the 
supervisors  of  music,  penmanship,  drawing  and  domestic  science  have 
under  their  direction  only  that  portion  of  their  special  work  which 
lies  below  the  high  school.  The  supervisor  of  domestic  science  teaches 
that  work  in  the  elementary  schools  for  half  of  the  day  and  devotes 
the  other  half  to  the  supervision  of  that  work  in  the  grades. 

It  would  seem  preferable  for  competent  supervisors  of  these  spe- 
cial subjects  to  have  at  least  a  general  oversight  of  the  work  through- 
out the  schools,  including  the  high  school.  This  would  at  any  rate 
make  it  more  likely  that  the  high  school  work  in  these  subjects  would 
be  properly  correlated  with  that  of  the  grades  below.  It  would  also 
tend  to  locate  the  responsibility  for  the  effectiveness  of  the  work  in 
these  subjects  throughout  the  school  system. 

The  supervisors  are  using  the  customary  methods  for  helping  the 
teachers  such  as  outlining  the  work,  having  special  conferences  with 

(26) 


teachers  as  their  needs  may  suggest  and  holding  meetings  of  the  teach- 
ers in  their  various  departments. 

An  effort  is  made  to  have  all  meetings  for  the  helping  of  teachers 
held  on  the  same  day.  This  is  one  specified  Saturday  morning  of  each 
school  month.  On  that  occasion  the  general  institute  is  held,  which 
includes  the  announcements  and  the  routine  business  brought  up  by 
the  superintendent  and  also  as  a  general  rule  an  address  by  some 
speaker  from  outside  the  school  system. 

On  the  same  day  it  is  expected  that  the  various  grade  and  de- 
partmental meetings  are  to  be  held.  The  teachers  in  the  high  school 
departments  meet  with  the  heads  of  the  departments  presiding.  The 
primary  teachers  hold  their  meetings  by  grades  and  the  intermediate 
teachers  hold  theirs  by  departments.  The  special  supervisors  also  hold 
their  meetings  on  this  day. 

This  arrangement  is  a  good  one  in  some  respects  particularly  in 
that  it  economizes  the  time  which  the  teacher  gives  to  these  meetings. 
However,  it  has  its  marked  disadvantages.  One  of  these  is  that  it  is 
exceedingly  difficult  to  bring  into  one 'half  day  all  of  the  instruction 
and  inspiration  which  a  teacher  should  receive  from  the  supervisory 
staff  during  the  month.  Another  one  is  that  where  several  grades  or 
departments  are  meeting  at  the  same  hour,  the  supervisor  cannot  get 
in  touch  with  all  of  them  except  by  dividing  time  and  giving  very  little 
time  to  any.  For  instance  if  the  first  and  second  grade  teachers  meet 
at  the  same  hour  but  in  different  rooms,  the  primary  supervisor  cannot 
meet  with  both  except  by  dividing  time. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  institute  takes 
so  much  of  the  Saturday  morning  that  the  departmental  meetings 
either  cannot  be  held  or  can  be  held  only  with  a  reduced  time  allow- 
ance. In  this  Case  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  call  special  meetings 
of  these  grades  or  departments  for  other  days.  It  might  possibly  be 
wiser  to  make  this  arrangement  to  begin  with,  publishing  the  dates  in 
advance  in  the  annual  report  so  that  due  notice  would  be  given.  "  This 
would  at  any  rate  make  it  possible  for  the  supervisors  to  give  more 
time  to  helping  their  various  groups  of  teachers. 

In  the  department  of  penmanship,  a  stimulus  to  the  teachers  is 
given  by  the  fact  that  a  certain  diploma  in  penmanship  entitles  the 
teacher  to  an  additional  increase  of  $50  per  year  in  salary.  A  con- 
siderable group  of  teachers  is  meeting  voluntarily  each  week  and  work- 
ing to  obtain  these  diplomas.  This  arrangement  is  tending  to  secure 
increased  efficiency  in  penmanship.  If  some  similar  plan  could  be 
worked  out  in  other  departments  the  results  might  be  worth  while. 

These  general  teachers  meetings  are  supplemented  by  faculty 
meetings  of  the  various  buildings.  At  the  high  school  there  is  a  faculty 
meeting  held  one  afternoon  each  week.  At  these  meetings  subjects 
are  discussed  which  pertain  to  the  special  work  of  the  building. 

(27) 


Numerous  teachers  of  the  El  Paso  schools  were  privately  asked 
as  to  whether  they  enjoyed  teachers'  meetings  and  most  of  them  gave 
the  customary  reply,  ramely:  "I  enjoy  them  when  I  feel  that  I  get 
any  good  out  of  them."  This  is  the  usual  attitude  of  good  teachers. 
It  is  a  sad  truth  that  many  teachers'  meetings  are  of  such  a  nature 
that  those  who  attend  feel  that  they  derive  little  if  any  benefit.  On 
the  other  hand  it  is  an  important  truth  that  a  really  live  helpful  teach- 
ers' meeting  furnishes  a  most  important  means  for  securing  better 
school  work. 

In  addition  to  holding  meetings  the  supervisors  make  as  many 
visits  to  the  various  school  rooms  as  time  will  allow.  They  also  hold 
conferences  with  individual  teachers  when  it  seems  necessary.  It 
would  perhaps  be  an  improvement  if  they  held  regular  office  hours  on 
stated  days  and  if  these  hours  were  published  so  that  any  teacher  who 
felt  the  need  of  help  would  know  exactly  when  and  where  the  super- 
visor could  be  found. 

The  institute  is  intended  for  the  study  of  general  school  problems 
while  the  grade  or  department  meeting  is  intended  for  the  study  of  the 
specific  problems  of  the  individual  teacher.  The  institute  should  in- 
clude, if  possible,  some  inspiring  address  each  month  to  the  entire 
body  of  teachers.  It  should  also  include,  if  practicable,  the  study  of 
some  general  educational  problems  by  the  teachers  organized  into 
groups  or  study  circles.  Progress  in  educational  work  demands  con- 
tinuous study  both  of  general  principles  and  of  specific  applications. 


VII.     THE  TEACHING  STAFF 

The  teaching  staff  in  the  El  Paso  schools  today  consists  of  .'H>5 
teachers  in  the  grades  and  7fi  in  the  high  school  making  441  in  all. 
In  addition  to  these  there  is  one  high  school  principal  and  15  principals 
of  elementary  schools. 

All  these  are  white  except  one  principal  and,  eight  teachers  in  the 
Douglass  School  for  colored  children. 

/  Of  the  :"»(•'»")  grade  teachers  all  are  women  except  seven  men  in  the 

manual  training  department. 

Of  the  76  High  School  teachers  there  are  fiO  women  and  16  men. 
The  percentage  of  men  in  the  High  School  is  not  so  high  as  is  the 
Ccise  of  many  of  the  best  city  high  schools.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  since  the  high  school  is  intended  to  serve  both  boys  and  girls  and 
since  these  sexes  are  in  the  world  in  approximately  equal  proportions, 
there  should  be  in  our  high  school  faculties  competent  men  and  com- 
petent women  in  aoproximately  equal  numbers. 

Of  the  sixteen  principals  three  are  men  and  thirteen  are  women. 
The  three  men  are  the  principal  of  the  High  School,  the  principal  of  the 
Manhattan  School  and  the  principal  of  the  colored  school. 

(28) 


There  can  be  no  doubt  that  generally  speaking  there  are  certain 
advantages  about  women  as  principals  of  schools  and  certain  ad- 
vantages with  men.  The  first  effort  should  of  course  be  to  secure  the 
most  competent  people  to  fill  any  position  that  may  be  opened,  regard- 
less of  sex.  Under  ideal  conditions  however,  there  would  be  in  a  school 
system  both  men  and  women  as  principals  of  the  various  schools,  and 
in  approximately  equal  numbers.  It  does  not  make  for  the  best  if 
either  sex  has  practically  a  monopoly. 

Undoubtedly  the  reason  why  there  are  fewer  men  than  women  as 
hirrh  school  teachers  and  as  principals  in  the  elementary  schools  is  the 

m  of  finance.  A  given  sum.  such  for  instance  as  $2,500  per  year, 
will  ordinarily  secure  services  of  a  higher  grade  when  paid  to  a  woman 
th'in  when  paid  to  a  man.  -This  is  simply  in  accordance  with  the  law 
of  s  "pply  and  demand.  However,  it  is  a  well  recognized  fact  that  the 
education  of  boys  and  girls  requires  the  services  of  both  .men  and 
women,  and  that  neither  sex  can  have  a  monopoly  without' some  danger 
tr,  the  best  interests  of  the  children. 

The  teachers  of  the  El  Paso  schools  as  a  whole  impress  a  visitor 
as  being  well  qualified,  faithful  and  industrious.  They  are  as  a  whole 
a  body  of  people  such  as  reflects  credit  upon  the  city  in  which  they  live. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  fact  that  142  teachers  now 
employed  in  the  schools  were  not  employed  last  year.  It  is  impossible 
to  make  this  number  of  changes  in  one  year  without  the  schools  suf- 
fering to  some  extent.  Some  mistakes  are  bound  to  occur  and  even 
at  best  a  corps  of  teachers  cannot  render  the  highest  service  when  more 
than  a  third  of  them  are  new  to  the  system. 

Of  the  number  mentioned  38  are  filling  additional  positions  re- 
quired by  the  increased  enrollment  over  last  year.  The  other  104 
represent  vacancies  in  last  year's  faculty. 

There  has  been  a  steady  rise  in  the  requirements  made  as  to  the 
preparation  of  teachers.  At  present  teachers  for  the  regular  academic 
classes  in  the  high  schools  are  required  to  possess  a  decree  from  some 
college  or  rniversity  of  recognized  standing.  The  rules  require  that 
teachers  in  the  grades  shall  have  at  least  two  years  of  training  beyond 
that  of  graduating  from  a  recognized  high  school.  This  of  course 
means  as  a  general  rule  at  least  two  years  of  normal  school  training. 

However,  it  may  be  noticed  that  the  same  rules  provide  that  if  a 
teacher  is  elected  to  a  place  in  the  grades  without  these  two  years  of 
additional  training  her  salary  will  be  less  than  that  of  a  teacher  who 
has  th:s  training.  If  this  applies  merely  to  teachers  already  elected, 
it  of  course  hc.s  no  bearing  upon  new  elections.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  El  Paso  schools  have  reached  that  position  of  excellence  and  of 
financial  backing  where  they  can  afford  to  insist  upon  electing  no  new 
teachers  who  fall  short  of  the  required  training. 


In  the  case  of  teachers  now  in  the  schools  who  have  demonstrated 
their  fitness  and  ability  to  do  their  work  well,  no  one  should  be  dis- 
turbed in  her  position  on  account  of  deficiency  in  original  training.  On 
the  other  hand  it  should  be  a  rigid  rule  in  the  future  that  no  teacher 
shall  be  elected  to  a  place  in  the  grades  who  has  less  than  a  first  grade 
certificate  or  less  than  two  years  of  training  in  normal  school  or  col- 
lege; and  that  no  teacher  shall  be  elected  to  a  high  school  position  who 
has  not  had  a  college  degree  and  a  teacher's  certificate  of  permanent 
rank.  These  suggestions  are  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  al- 
ready printed  by  the  city. 

The  figures  compiled  in  the  report  made  by  the  El  Paso  schools 
to  the  State  Department  of  Education  for  the  year  1920-21  give  the 
following  information  concerning  the  certification  of  teachers  in  the 
El  Paso  schools: 

Total    second    grade    certificates 30 

Tot^l    first   grade   certificates 10(> 

Total    permanent    primary    certificates .~>4 

Total    permanent   certificates 132 

High    school    city    certificates 0 

Kindergarten    state    certificates u. •"> 

The  State  Department  of  Education  also  furnishes  the  following 
information  concerning  the  schools  from  which  teachers  in  El  Paso  dur- 
ing the  year  1920-21  had  graduated: 


Total 

7 

2(52 

87 
41 


Kicnn-ntary 
Teachers 

High   School 
Teachers 

Graduates   of   no   school 

7 

N^one 

Graduates    of    high    schools 

233 

29 

Graduates  of  normal  schools  
Graduates  of  colleges  or  universities  

71 
10 

10 
31 

It  is  doubtless  the  case  that  the  teachers  in  the  high  school  who 
are  recorded  as  having  only  high  school  graduation  are  either  teachers 
of  special  subjects  or  else  are  teachers  who  have  been  in  the  service 
for  a  number  of  years  and  have  demonstrated  by  actual  work  their 
fitness  for  their  positions.  It  doubtless  also  is  true  that  some  of  these 
same  teachers  have  had  considerable  training  above  the  grade  of  the 
high  school  although  they  have  not  graduated  elsewhere.  It  is  also 
true  that  in  this  year's  high  school  faculty  the  percentage  of  teachers 
with  only  high  school  training  is  considerably  less  and  the  percentage 
of  those  with  university  degrees  is  considerably  higher.  Nevertheless 
the  recorded  figures  suggest  that  in  future  elections  the  requirements 
of  a  college  degree  for  high  school  teachers  and  of  at  least  two  years 
of  college  or  normal  work  for  elementary  teachers  should  be  rigidly 
adhered  to. 

Below  the  rank  of  the  regularly  employed  teachers  are  pro- 
bationary teachers  and  the  cadets.  The  cadets  are  for  the  most  part 

(30) 


young  teachers  who  are  not  assigned  to  regular  class  rooms.  The  name 
"cadet"  corresponds  in  some  measure  with  the  term  supernumerary 
teacher  as  it  is  used  in  some  other  school  systems.  The  position  offers 
a  very  valuable  opportunity  for  the  training  of  young  teachers.  Tf 
care  is  taken  in  the  selecting  of  cadets,  if  no  one  is  elected  who  is 
not  considered  good  material  for  the  making  of  a  regular  teacher  later 
on,  the  group  of  cadets  may  become  a  very  important  element  in  the 
obtaining  of  the  supply  of  teachers.  The  supervisory  staff  and  the 
principals  should  consider  the  training  of  cadets  as  one  of  their  most 
important  functions. 

The  teaching  staff  of  El  Paso  includes  people  from  a  large  num- 
ber of  different  states  in  the  union.  It  includes  people  who  have  had 
their  training  in  widely  different  schools  and  their  previous  experience 
in  widely  different  localities.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  It  is  highly 
unfortunate  if  all  the  teachers  in  a  school  system  come  from  the  same 
school  or  the  same  locality. 

It  would  probably  be  a  good  idea  if  the  printed  reports  of  the  El 
Paso  schools  occasionally  gave  a  list  of  the  teachers  with  the  exact 
preparation  and  the  previous  experience  of  each. 

El  Paso  has  to  deal  with  the  same  problems  that  confront  other 
cities  in  reference  to  the  preparation  of  its  special  teachers  and  par- 
ticularly its  teachers  along  industrial  or  vocational  lines.  It  is  always 
a  question  as  to  whether  to  select  for  your  vocational  work,  teachers 
who  have  been  trained  in  the  shops  or  teachers  who  have  been  trained 
in  the  schools.  An  ideal  training  of  such  teachers  would  of  course  in- 
clude both.  However,  school  finances  are  such  that  it  is  difficult  to 
attract  teachers  who  have  been  trained  both  in  the  industries  and  in 
the  schools.  Nevertheless  qualities  from  both  sources  are  indispensible 
and  particularly  in  dealing  with  small  children.  It  appears  that  those 
El  Paso  teachers  who  give  instruction  to  girls  in  domestic  science  have 
had  more  of  college  training  in  their  subjects  than  have  the  teachers 
of  manual  training  in  the  grades.  In  the  latter  case  the  emphasis 
seems  to  have  been  made  upon  the  preparation  in. the  shops.  While 
both  kinds  of  preparation  are  needed  it  would  appear  that  a  certain 
amount  of  training  in  methods  is  absolutely  indispensible  for  the  man 
who  is  efficient  to  teach  manual  training  to  small  boys. 


VIII.     THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

Unfortunately  the  general  laws  of  the  State  of  Texas  do  not  per- 
mit any  considerable  amount  of  latitude  in  the  making  of  a  courv  of 
study,  particularly  in  the  elementary  grades.  There  are  uniform  text 
books  prescribed  and  adopted  in  practically  all  of  the  subjects  to  lu* 
used  in  the  elementary  schools  and  in  many  of  the  subjects  in  the 
high  school. 

(33) 


The  State  Department  of  Education  also  issues  a  state  course  of 
study  which  within  certain  limits  is  expected  to  be  used  throughout 
the  State. 

The  adoption  of  uniform  text  books  undoubtedly  saved  some 
money  to  the  people  of  Texas  during  the  time  when  text  bo.oks  were 
bought  by  the  patrons.  However,  since  free  text  books  are  now  fur- 
nished by  the  State  and  the  State  therefore  has  supervision  of  all  the 
purchases  of  text  books  it  would  seem  as  if  more  of  latitude  might  be 
allowed  for  meeting  the  individual  needs  of  the  various  communities. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  text  book  on  spelling  which  would  be  most 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  Dallas  is  not  necessarily  the  one  which  would 
be  of  the  greatest  service  in  the  schools  of  El  Paso.  To  give  a  still 
more  specific  illustration  the  text  book  on  English  which  would  be  of 
the  greatest  value  to  the  2,000  Mexican  children  attending  the  Aoy 
school  is  not  necessarily  the  one  which  would  be  of  the  greatest  value 
to  the  English  speaking  children  of  the  Bailey  or  Morehead  or  Alta 
Vista. 

The  course  of  study  in  the  El  Paso  schools  is  by  reason  of  State 
uniformity  of  text  books  more  or  less  the  conventional  course  pre- 
scribed by  the  State.  That  this  course  does  not  absolutely  meet  the 
special  need  for  the  case  is  not  a  reflection  upon  the  schools  of  El  Paso 
nor  yet  upon  the  State  Department  of  Education.  It  is  simply  an- 
other proof  of  the  impossibility  of  the  task  of  adopting  the  best  text 
books  and  writing  the  one  best  course  of  study  which  shall  meet  the 
needs  of  all  the  city  children  and  rural  children  who  live  in  the  widely 
different  sections  of  the  sreat  Empire  State  of  Texas. 

However,  the  El  Paso  schools  have  made  good  use  of  the  small 
amount  of  latitude  which  state  uniformity  has  left  to  them.  Within 
the  past  year  the  teachers  and  supervisors  in  the  El  Paso  schools, 
working  through  committees  of  the  proper  sizes  have  outlined  .rather 
in  detail,  the  course  of  study  both  in  the  elementary  schools  and  in  the 
high  school.  These  courses  of  study  have  been  printed  in  forms  ac- 
cessible to  the  teachers  and  have  been  of  great  value  to  them. 

One  difficulty  about  printing  an  outline  of  a  course  of  study  is. 
that  ordinarily  the  outline  is  either  too  rigid  or  is  not  rigid  enough. 
There  is  one  type  of  teacher  who  desires  a  very  rigid  outline  of  the 
course  of  study.  She  desires  to  know  just  exactly  how  much  ground 
she  should  cover  in  each  subject  each  month. 

This  desire  is  commendable  but  the  difficulty  with  it  is  that  there 
is  no  stated  amount  of  work  which  can  and  should  be  covered  by  every 
class  each  month.  Classes  vary  greatly  in  their  needs  and  in  their 
abilities.  The  lock-step  system  is  one  of  the  grave  evils  which  the 
public  should  strive  to  avoid. 

Nevertheless  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  uniformity  necessary  in 
school  administration  and  in  school  instruction.  While  it  is  a  fact 


that  children  vary  in  needs  and  in  capacities  there  is  nevertheless  a 
certain  basis  of  need  that  is  fundamen-tal  and  that  is  common  to  all 
children.  Furthermore  their  individual  capacities  probably  vary  less 
than  we  are  accustomed  to 'think. 

How  to  outline  a  course  of  study  that  will  be  sufficiently  rigid  to 
serve  as  a  guide  to  the  new  or  inexperienced  teacher  and  yet  sufficiently 
elastic  to  enable  the  experiencd  teacher  to  adapt  it  to  the  needs  of  her 
different  children'  is  a  question  by  no  means  easy  to  answer. 
;}<-•-'•••' 

There  is  some  question  in  the  El  Paso  schools  as  to  the  propriety 

of,  modifying  the  course  of  study  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  Mexican 
children  "South  of  the  tracks."  "  In  my  judgment  as  much  latitude 
should  be,  allowed  as  the  State  laws  will  permit,  and  these  laws  should 
if\necessary,  be  stretched  well  nigh  to  the  breaking  point  to  meet  the 
special  needs  of  these  children.  "In  actual  fact  I  believe  that  there 
should  be  more  modification  in  the  course  of  study  to  meet  the  needs 
oj  these  children  than  there  actually  is. 

Just  what  these  modifications  should  be  is  a  question  on  which 
opinions  may  differ.  The  question  is  complicated  by  the  number  of 
part-time  classes.  If  you  have  only  half  the  time  which  you  need  for 
teaching  it  naturally  follows  that  you  must  leave  out  something. 
Equally  naturally  it  follows,  that  you  are  likely  to  leave  out  those  sub- 
jects that  you  consider  of  least  importance. 

There  is  danger  that  in  leaving  out  those  subjects  which  the  prin- 
cipal or  teacher  considers  of  least'  importance  you  may  leave  out  some 
subject  which  the  special  gift  or  genius  of  the  child  calls  for.  For  in- 
stance one  may  consider  music  among  the  minor  items  of  the  curricu- 
lum; and  yet  since  music  is  one  of  the  subjects  in  which  the  Mexican 
child  ^ is  especially  gifted  it  would  seem  a  pity  for  him  to  be  deprived 
of  instruction  in  music. 

In  genera]  it  would  seem  to  me  that  the  following  three  groups  of 
subjects  ought  to  be  stressed  in  the  Mexican  schools  of  El  Paso: 

T.  *  First  and  foremost,  English  with  all  its  allied  branches.  If  a 
Mexican  child  comes  to  school  unable  to  speak  the  English  language, 
*he' 'thing  he -needs  most' of  all  to  learn  is  to  speak  the  English  lan- 
guage. Then  he  needs  to  learn  how  to  read  it,  to  write  it  and  to  spell 
It  'His  one  most  essential  need  is  that  kind  of  training  which  will 
bring  him  into  practical  touch  with  all  phases  of  English,  including 
^nglo-Saxon  ideals  and  standards  of  living.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
even  in  the  process  of  learning  the  mechanics  of  reading,  the  Spanish 
chUd  needs  methods  of  teaching  and  particularly  methods  of 
f  instruction,  which  are  different  from  those  needed  by  the  Eng- 
lish sneaking  child.  The  various  sounds  in  the  Spanish  language -to 
ivlifefr'-he  has  been  accustomed  are  different  from  those  of  the  English 
rrisv  <:  He  learns  rapidly  at  the  start  but  nevertheless  he  should  be 

•': 

(33) 


allowed  more  time  for  the  accomplishment  of  certain  work  in  English 
than  is  needed  by  the  American  child.  The  course  of  study  prepared 
by  the  El  Paso  teachers  makes  excellent  suggestions  for  this  adaptation. 

2.  He  should  receive  instruction  along  those  lines  in  which  Mexi- 
can children  are  particularly  gifted.     Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
music  and  handwork. 

3.  He  should  receive  training  of  an  industrial  nature  especially 
suited  to  his  needs  and  capacities.     More  time  for  cooking  and  sewing 
should  be  allowed  to  the  girls  in  the  elementary  schools  in  the  Mexi- 
can district  than  is  needed  by  the  American  girls  of  the  same  grade. 
Tn  the  first,  second  and  third  grades  there  are  Mexican  girls  of  four- 
teen or  fifteen  years.     In  the  American  schools  instruction  is  not  given 
in  cooking  or  sewing  in  these  lowest  grades.     However  special  arrange- 
ments ought  to  be  made  whereby  these  subjects  can  be  taught  to  the 
Mexican  girls  of  these  ages  even  when  they  are  in  the  first  or  second 
grade.     Tn  San  Antonio  some  years  ago  an  excellent  beginning  was 
made  of  teaching  Mexican  drawnwork  to  Mexican  girls. 

If  these  three  groups  of  subjects  are  emphasized  in  the  Mexican 
schools,  they  will  minister  to  the  most  important  needs  of  these  schools. 
After  these  subjects  are  taught  it  will  not  make  so  much  difference  if 
less  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  other  subjects  of  the  conventional  ele- 
mentary school  curriculum. 

In  the  El  Paso  course  of  study  as  in  similar  courses  in  other  cities 
ft  is  difficult  to  keep  the  course  in  such  subjects  as  manual  training  and 
domestic  science  from  becoming  too  rigid.  The  teachers  of  these  sub- 
jects have  in  some  instances  copied  the  vices  of  the  older  subjects 
rather  than  their  virtue.  Among  these  vices  is  too  much  rigidity. 

It  is  of  course  necessary  that  there  be  within  certain  limits  an  out- 
line on  the  course  of  study  in  cooking  and  sewing  and  in  manual  train- 
ing. This  outline  should  be  sufficiently  definite  to  cover  the  essential 
points  in  these  subjects. 

At  the  same  time  it  should  be  sufficiently  elastic  to  allow  of  the 
application  of  the  work  to  the  individual  interest  of  the  pupils  and  to 
the  needs  of  the  classes.  In  most  schools  girls  are  encouraged  in 
school  to  make  their  own  clothing.  In  a  few  schools  the  course  in 
cooking  is  such  as  to  allow  the  girls  on  some  occasions  to  bring  to 
school  the  materials  for  making  soup  or  bread  or  cake  and  then  to  pre- 
pare these  in  class  and  to  take  the  finished  product  home  for  use  in 
the  family  meal. 

It  is  becoming  more  and  more  customary  for  the  manual  training 
department  in  good  schools  to  make  the  rulers  or  pointers  needed  in 
the  schools  and  even  to  attend  to  making  minor  school  repairs  and 
furnishing  minor  school  conveniences.  In  the  high  schools  of  Houston 
and  San  Antonio  much  of  the  special  equipment  for  new  biuldings  was 
made  by  the  boys  in  the  manual  training  departments  of  the  high 

(34) 


schools.  This  furnished  excellent  training  for  the  boys  and  as  they 
were  paid  for  their  work  above  that  of  the  regular  school,  they  profited 
financially  thereby.  Incidentally  the  city  saved  thousands  of  dollars 
and  the  articles  made  were  fully  as  good  as  those  that  might  have  been 
purchased  from  manufacturers  at  higher  prices. 

Greater  flexibility  in  the  course  of  manual  training  and  domestic 
science  in  the  El  Paso  schools, would  work  to  the  increased  advantage 
of  all  concerned. 

One  of  the  excellent  features  outlined  in  the  handbook  of  the  El' 
Paso  schools  is  the  work  of  Americanization.  This  includes  such  mat- 
ters as  flag  etiquette,  patriotism,  and  graded  work  which  would  tend 
to  make  the  child  a  better  American  citizen. 

The  amount  of  time  which  is  outlined  in  this  handbook  to  be  de- 
voted to  the  various  subjects  in  the  grades  is  excellent  if  it  is  not  ad- 
hered to  with  too  much  rigidity.  It  is  highly  valuable  for  suggestion 
but  should  not  be  taken  as  iron-clad.  Neither  should  the  suggestion 
be  taken  as  iron-clad  that  two  full  terms  shall  be  required  in  the  low 
first  grade  in  the  Mexican  schools.  It  is  quite  likely  that  this  much 
time  will  be  required  but  if  the  Mexican  children  in  any  class  can 'do 
the  work  in  less  time  they  should  be  allowed  to  do  so. 

Among  the  commendable  features  of  the  course  of  study  in  the 
elementary  schools  is  the  systematic  memory  work  and  the  list  of  books 
recommended  for  home  reading.  To  these  might  profitably  be  added 
a  graded  course  in  picture  study. 

The  course  of  study  in  the  high  school  has  as  usual  not  been  out- 
lined quite  so  much  in  detail  as  has  the  course  in  the  grades  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  primary  grades.  There  are  three  distinct  courses  lead- 
ing to  high  school  graduation:  The  college  course,  the  general  course 
and  the  commercial  course.  Each  one  of  these  requires  eighteen  full 
units  of  credit.  This  requirement  is  two  units  more  than  is  ordinarily 
required  in  standard  high  schools  for  graduation.  It  is  provided  that 
the  ordinary  course  shall  consist  of  four  "solid  units"  each  year,  but 
in  addition  to  these  at  least  two  more  "light  credits"  shall  be  earned 
during  the  four  years  of  the  high  school  course.  It  is  explained  that 
these  two  light  credits  are  intended  to  broaden  the  pupil's  interests  and 
information. 

There  may  perhaps  be  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  amount 
of  work  to  be  required  of  a  high  school  student  and  the  relative  value 
of  different  subjects  in  the  curriculum.  The  prevailing  tendency  is  to 
believe  that  four  subjects  carefully  taught  and  thoroughly  studied  con- 
stitute a  fairly  heavy  course  for  a  high  school  student.  However,  there 
are  some  pupils  who  can  carry  five  subjects  more  readily  than  others 
can  carry  four.  Provision  is  very  properly  made  for  allowing  such 
students  to  take  extra  work  by  special  permission. 

There  is  also  a  growing  tendency  to  believe  that  'there  is  a  kind 
of  democracy  in  subject  matter;  that  stenography  ought  to  be  taught 

(35) 


in  such  a  fashion  as  to  require  as  much  effort  and  give  as  valuable  re- 
turns as  the  study  of  Latin  or  Spanish. 

While  there  might  be  ,a  general  willingness  on  the  part  of  indi- 
viduals to  admit  that  some  high  school  subjects  are  less  valuable  than 
others  there  would  probably  be  little  unanimity  in  agreeing  as  to  what 
those  subjects  are.  The  tendency  is  for  each  specialist  to  think  the 
other  fellow's  subjects  less  important  than  his  own. 

The  college  preparatory  course  demands  that  fifteen  of  the  sixteen 
solid  credits  required  shall  be  those  accepted  by  colleges  for  admission. 
Of  these  fifteen,  four  must  be  in  English,  two  in  history,  three  in 
mathematics,  three  in  one  of  the  foreign  languages  and  two  in  science. 
This  allows  comparatively  little  scope  for  election. 

The  general  course  gives  freer  scope  for  election  and  suggests  that 
students  wishing  to  count  several  vocational  courses  should  use  the 
general  course. 

The  commercial  course  covers  four  years  and  requires  sixteen  solid 
credits  and  two  light  ones  just  as  is  required  in  the  other  subjects. 
This  allows  the  pupil  to  take  some  commercial  subjects  but  makes  it 
necessary  that  most  of  the  work  be  done  along  academic  lines. 

In  the  manual  training  work,  shop  work  and  mechanical  drawing 
are  not  placed  in  the  same  department  nor  under  the  same  supervision. 
In  other  words  the  mechanical  drawing  is  under  the  department  of  art 
rather  than  the  department  of  manual  training.  This  is  contrary  to 
the  usual  custom  and  would  seem  not  advantageous. 

In  the  course  in  science  chemistry  precedes  physics.  This  also 
va  ies  from  the  customary  practice.  After  physics  a  year  in  advanced 
chemistry  is  offered.- 

While  there  may  be  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  propriety 
of  "light  credits"  as  applied  to  courses  in  manual  and  domestic  arts, 
there  can  be  no  difference  as  to  the  excellent  list  of  activities  outside 
of  the  school  room  which  are  listed  as  providing  for  light  credits. 
Among  these  are  first  or  second  place  in  an  interscholastic  league  con- 
test of  highest  rank,  first  place  in  a  record  group  contest  in  spelling, 
satisfactory  work  on  a  school  team  or  first  place  in  a  drill  contest  in 
military  science,  or  highly  satisfactory  service  on  the  staff  of  the  school 
paper.  The  list  of  activities  of  this  kind  on  which  light  credits  may 
be  secured  is  an  excellent  one. 

The  high  school  maintains  a  junior  unit  of  the  Reserve  Officers' 
Training  Corps,,  directed  by  an  officer  of  the  regular  army  detailed  by 
the  War  Department.  Uniforms  and  other  equipment  are  furnished 
by  the  War  Department. 

In  general  it  may  be  stated  that  the  El  Paso  High  School  offers 
a  course  of  study  providing  for  a  reasonable  number  of  elected  sub- 
jects. It  is  stronger  in  its  conservative  subjects  such  as  Latin,  his- 
tory, mathematics  and  science  than  in  its  vocational,  industrial  or  com- 

(36) 


mercial  subjects  although  it  offers  a  fair  amount  of  opportunity  along 
these  other  lines. 

One  step  forward  which  has  recently  been  taken  in  connection 
with  the  course  of  study  has  been  the  elimination  of  the  eighth  grade 
from  the  elementary  schools.  The  eighth  grade  as  it  is  ordinarily 
conducted,  is  worth  while  only  when  children  enter  the  first  grade  at 
six  years  of  age  and  hence  lack  the  maturity  to  complete  the  elementary 
course  of  study  in  seven  years.  When  children  start  to  school  at  seven 
years  of  age  as  they  do  in  Texas  it  has  been  shown  that  seven  years 
are  all  that  is  needed  for  completing  the  elementary  school  course.  The 
model  school  in  the  University  of  Chicago  had  for  years  a  course  of 
eight  years  below  the  high  school,  but  the  course  was  reorganized  with 
the  deliberate  intent  to  eliminate  the  eighth  grade.  The  schools  of 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  of  practically  all  the  cities  in  Texas  have  been 
organized  on  a  seven  year  basis  for  years.  The  El  Paso  system  was 
undoubtedly  moving  in  the  right  direction  when  the  eighth  "grade  was 
eliminated  from  the  elementary  course  of  study. 

Some  day  in  the  near  future,  the  course  of  study  in  the  El  Paso 
schools  will  be  reorganized  to  provide  for  junior  high  schools.  The 
fact  that  the  high  school  building  is  already  overcrowded  will  lead  in 
this  direction.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  already  a  group  of  first 
year  high  school  students  at  the  Manhattan  School,  thus  affording  there 
a  nucleus  for  a  junior  high  school.  It  is  somewhat  to  be  regretted  that 
the  pupils  of  the  highest  grade  of  the  elementary  schools  and  those 
of  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  at  that  building  have  different 
teachers  and  apparently  little  relationship  one  to  the  other.  If  these 
two  years  can  be  so  reorganized  that  the  same  teachers  will  teach  the 
two  groups  it  will  be  a  step  further  in  the  right  direction  towar'd  the 
organization  of -junior  high  schools.  The  future  tendency  of  the  El 
Paso  schools  will  probably  be  and  should  be  in  that  direction. 

When  this  is  done  the  elementary  course  of  study  will  consist  of 
six  grades,  the  junior  high  school  of  two  or  three  grades,  as  may  be 
deemed  most  advisable,  and  the  senior  high  school  of  the  remaining 
three  or  two  grades.  This  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  general 
modern  tendency  among  progressive  high  schools. 


IX.     THE  CLASS  ROOM  PRODUCT 

After  all,  however,  the  subject  in  which  the  parent  is  as  a  general 
rule  most  interested  is  not  that  of  the  finances  or  the  statistics  of  the 
organization  or  even  the  desirability  of  the  school  property.  The  thing 
that  chiefly  interests  the  parent  is  the  actual  result  with  his  own  child. 
If  he  feels  that  his  own  children  are  actually  profiting  by  the  schools 
he  can  overlook  a  great  many  other  things. 

(37) 


The  question  of  good  work  or  poor  work  in  a  school  used  to  be 
largely  a  matter  of  individual  opinion.  In  recent  years,  howi-xri. 
scales  have  been  worked  out  by  which  progress  along  certain  lines  can 
be  definitely  measured. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  did  not 
allow  the  measurement  of  all  the  class  room  product  of  the  El  Paso 
schools,  the  subject  of  English  was  selected  for  special  study.  Since 
the  outstanding  fact  in  the  El  Paso  school  is  that  they  deal  with  large 
numbers  of  Mexican  children  it  naturally  follows  that  the  most  im- 
portant subject  in  the  course  of  study  is  that  of  English.  Of  all  the 
phases  of  work  in  English  one  easiest  to  measure  is  that  of  spelling. 
Accordingly  words  selected  from  the  Ayres  Standard  Scale  of  Spelling 
was  submitted  to  the  children  in  all  the  grades  of  the  El  Paso  schools 
from  the  second  grade  on  up.  These  words  were  dictated  by  the 
teachers,  the  work  was  graded  by  the  teachers,  the  averages  were  com- 
puted and"  the  results  sent  to  the  office  of  the  City  Superintendent. 

These  same  words  had  been  used  in  measuring  the  spelling  in  hun- 
dreds of  other  cities.  It  is  possible  therefore  to  give  results  showing 
the  way  in  which  the  children  of  El  Paso  spell  as  compared  with  the 
way  in  which  children  spell  in  other  cities. 

The  list  of  words  submitted  to  the  children  in  the  various  grades 
were  as  follows: 

Grade  2 — Nine,  face,  ride,  tree,  sick,  get,  north,  white,  spent,  foot, 
blow,  spring,  river,  lock,. plant,  cut,  song,  winter,  stone,  free. 

Grade  8 — Catch,  black,  warm,  unless,  clothing,  began,  able,  gone, 
suit,  track,  watch,  fell/ fight,  dash,  stop,  walk,  grant,  soap,  news,  small. 

Grade  4 — Afraid,  uncle,  rather,  comfort,  elect,  abroad,  jail,  shed 
retire,  refuse,  district,  royal,  objection,  restrain,  pleasure,  navy,  popu- 
lation, proper,  judge,  weather. 

Grade  5— Sometimes,  declare,  engage,  final,  terrible,  surprise, 
period,  addition,  employ,  property,  select,  firm,  region,  connection,  con- 
vict, private,  command,  debate,  crowd,  factory. 

Grade  6 — Often,  stopped,  motion,  theatre,  improvement,  century, 
total,  mention,  arrive,  supply,  assist,  examination,  particular,  difference, 
affair,  neither,  local,  marriage,  further,  serious. 

Grade  7 — Issue,  material,  suggest,  mere,  senate,  receive,  respect- 
fully, agreement,  unfortunate,  majority,  elaborate,  necessary,  divide, 
citizen,  absence,  testimony,  celebration,  discussion,  folks,  arrangement. 

Grades  8,  9,  10  and  11 — Divide,  principal  (of  a  school),  testi- 
mony, discussion,  arrangement,  reference,  evidence,  organization,  emer- 
gency, appreciate,  sincerely,  extreme,  immediate,  athletic,  convenience, 
receipt,  preliminary,  decision,  judgment,  recommend. 


(38) 


The  averages  made  by  the  various  grades  in  the  city  of  El  Paso 
are  given  below  as  compared  with  the  similar  averages  made  in  the 
schools  of  Gary,  Ind.,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Houston,  Texas,  and  eighty- 
four  other  cities  selected  throughout  the  United  States. 


Grade 

Percentage 
in  84  Cities 

Gary 

Cleveland 

Houston 

El  Paso 

2 

77 

51 

74 

76.2 

80.7 

3 

77 

56 

78 

84.3 

83.7 

4 

76 

53 

73 

82.0  . 

75.6 

5 

76 

51 

75 

81.6 

74.6 

6 

76 

58 

78 

86.5 

85.2 

7 

76 

62 

75 

87.1 

82.8 

8 

76.5 

55.1 

75.6 

82.9 

74.3 

9 

76 

57 

80 

82.9 

75.9 

10 

71 

.... 

81.8 

79.9 

11 

79 

88.7 

89.4 

It  will  be  observed  from  these  figures  that  the  measurement  of 
the  work  in  spelling  in  the  El  Paso  schools  shows  excellent  results.  In 
general  the  marks  are  decidedly  above  those  of  the  averages  through- 
out the  United  States.  Furthermore  many  of  the  Mexican  schools 
compare  very  favorably  with  the  American  schools  in  the  matter  of 
spelling.  In  fact,  taken  throughout,  the  averages  of  the  Beall  School 
which  is  attended  largely  by  Mexicans  are  higher  than  those  of  any 
other  school  of  the  city.  It  may  particularly  be  noted  that  the  three 
high  second  grades  at  this  school  made  an  average  of  98.9  per  cent 
on  the  second  grade  words.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  this  school 
the  teaching  of  spelling  stresses  the  idea  of  syllables.  On  the  other 
hand  the  lowest  average  made  was  an  average  of  35  per  cent  made 
by  the  low  fourth  grade  in  one  of  the  Mexican  schools. 

It  should  of  course  be  recognized  that  in  the  lower  grades  par- 
ticularly many  of  the  Mexican  children  are  considerably  older  than  are 
the  American  children  in  the  corresponding  grades.  This  may  account 
to  some  extent  for  their  work  in  spelling. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades  do  not  rank  as 
high  in  the  comparative  scale  of  spelling  as  do  the  other  grades.  This 
is  due  to  conditions  which  any  teacher  who  is  familiar  with  those  grades 
will  readily  understand. 

It  is  also  worth  while  to  notice  that  the  best  spelling  in  the  high 
school  is  in  the  fourth  year  and  the  next  best  in  the  third  year.  This 
is  partly  due  to  the  teaching,  partly  due  to  the  greater  maturity  of 
the  pupil  and  partly  due  alas!  to  the  principle  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest. 

In  order  to  gain  a  further  idea  as  to  the  quality  of  the  work  in 
English  a  collection  was  made  of  at  least  one  paper  in  written  English 

(39) 


from  every  pupil  in  the- city  schools.  As  a  general  rule  these  papers 
were  neatly  written,  well  spelled  and  showed  a  gqod  .grasp  of  the  prjn- 
ciples  of  the  English  language.  There  were,  of  course,  many  poojrly 
written  and  badly  constructed  papers  just  as  there  will  be  found  in 
any  system  of  city  schools  in  the  United  States.  In  general,  how- 
eve"  r,  the  papers  were  creditable  to  the  El  Paso  schools,  especially  when 
one  considers  that  a  large  number  of  the  pupils  did  not  speak  the 
English  language  as  their  native  tongue. 

Your  visitor  made  a  careful  study  of  the  product  of  the. work  in 
the  high  seventh  grade  of  the  Beall  School.  The  children  were  almost 
all  of  Mexican  birth  or  extraction.  They  had  a  good  knowledge  of 
the  fundamental  operations  in  arithmetic  with  whole  numbers,  mixed 
numbers,  common  fractions,  and  decimals.  They  had  a  good  general 
grasp  of  the  principles  of  percentage.  They  had  a  good  general  knowl- 
edge of  current  events  and  of  such  matters  as  seventh  grade  pupils  are 
ordinarily  expected  to  grasp. 

These  children  of  Mexican  parentage  would  have  compared  very 
favorably  with  most  pupils  who  are  ready  to  leave*  the  elementary 
schools  and  enter  the  high  school  in  many  eastern  cities  where  Ameri- 
can strain  predominates.  .This  fact  is  a  tribute  to  the  capacity  of 
Mexican  children  and  also  to  the  efficiency  of  the  public  school  system 
of  El  Paso. 

Graduates  of  the  El  Paso  High  School  are  admitted  on  the  strength 
of  their  diplomas  to  the  University  of  Texas  and  to  many  of  thye  lead- 
ing colleges  of  the  north  and  east.  Many  of  them  have  entereS  these 
colleges  and  have  made  and  are  still  making  good  records  ,fri  them. 
The  high  school  has  thirty-eight  units  of  credit  as  recognized  by  the 
State  Department  of  Education  for  Texas.  In  this  respect  it  ranks 
well  among  the  other  cities  of  the  State. 

One  of  the  methods  frequently  used  in  judging  of  the  efficiency 
of  a  school  system  is  that  of  a  study  of  the  distribution  by  "age  and 
grade.  This  is  a  good  basis  for  comparison  where  conditions  are  the 
same,  but  where  conditions  differ  greatly  the  comparison  may  be  alto- 
gether misleading. 

For  instance  if  it  were  stated  to  one  unacquainted  with  conditions 
that  at  the  Aoy  School,  out  of  2,000  pupils  enrolled  there  are  707  in 
the  first  grade,  he  might  hastily  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  a 
very  poor  school.  If  he  were  to  really  study  the  school  and  its  work 
he  would  find  on  the  other  hand  that  it  is  really  an  excellent  school. 
The  707  children  in  the  first  grade  are  largely  Mexican  children  who 
have  previously  had  little  opportunity  for  schooling  of  any  kind  and 
no  opportunity  for  training  in  the  English  language.  They  were  :very 
much  like  the  men  in  the  Scripture  who  when  asked  why  they  were 
still  idle  at  the  eleventh  hour  replied,  "Because  no  man  hath  hired)  us.'' 
They  were  taking  advantage  of  their  first  opportunity.  Many  of  these 

(40) 


.- 

, decidedly  over  age  for  their  grades,  and  hence  would  make  a  !>•»'! 
^showing  in  the  average  table  of  distribution  by  age  and  grades.     How- 
ever, instead  of  their  being  a  rellection  upon  the  school  they  are  really 
j|rea.tly  to  the  credit  of  the  school  that  has  taken  them  in  charge  and 
trying  to  make  a  record  for  itself  has  tried  as  best  it  can  to 
the  pupils. 

ith  this  preliminary  statement  the  following  table  is  submitted 
giving  the  distribution  by  grades  of  the  children  in  the  El  Paso  schools 
on  the  18th  day  of  December,  1921.  The  table  is  given  separatel> 
for"  the  schools  of  the  Mexican  districts  "South  of  the  Tracks"  and 
those  of  the  American  district  "North  of  the  Tracks." 


Grades 


South  of  Tracks 
Mexican 
District 


Kindergarten |             138  340 

Low  First 1,617  572 

High  First 656  283 

Low -Second '• 684  451 

High   Second 527  338 

Low'  Third 419  410 

HighJ  Third 322  363 

Low;  Fourth '. j             329  374 

High   Fourth ;            224  284 

,      Low   Fifth 224  374 

...High   Fifth 225  262 

Low    Sixth 134  327 

^?(High  :?Sixth 126  284 

t-    Low  Seventh 100  240 

3c  H.b?h    Seventh.  ..:.,... 47  163 

?=                ^T=  ^^ 

It-                                                             High   School  No. 

k                                 First 639  ~ 

Second 502 

<<v                               Third 522 

,t.fr                              Fourth 127 

Junior  College 65 


North    of    Tracks 
American 
District 


Entire    City 
of  El  Paso 


478 


939 
jSfi 
865 

S29 

(58.1 
703 
508 
598 
487 
563 
410 
340 
210 


No  exact  figures  are  available  as  to  the  number  of  Mexican  pupils 
in  the  high  school  but  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  estimates  the 
number  to  be  about  100. 

It  is  sometimes  considered  that  statistics  make  dry  reading  but 
surely  no  one  can  carefully  read  the  figures  in  the  above  table  without 
seeing  in  them  an  element  of  the  pathetic  if  not  of  the  tragic.  In  the  first 
grade  the  children  in  the  Mexican  schools  outnumber  those  in  the  Amer- 
ican schools' by  practically  three  to  one.  By  the  time  the  low  third 
grade  is  reached  there  is  practically  an  equality  in  numbers,  and  after 
that  the  proportion  of  Mexican  children  steadily  diminishes  until  in  the 
high  seventh  grade  the  proportion  of  Americans  to  Mexicans  is  more 
than  three  to  one.  It  is  a  story  of  a  losing  contest  against  the  handi- 

(41) 


caps  of  an  unfamiliar  language,  poverty  and  other  matters  of  heritage. 
When  all  these  things  are  taken  into  consideration,  however,  the  show- 
ing is  not  a  bad  one  for  either  side.  Only  the  all  wise  being  can  tell 
on  which  side  the  greater  effort  has  been  made. 

The  percentage  of  pupils  of  the  entire  enrollment  that  are  enrolled 
in  a  high  school  furnishes  one  of  the  tests  ordinarily  used  in  judging 
the  efficiency  of  a  school  system.  The  following  figures  are  given  by 
the  State  Department  of  Education  concerning  the  enrollment  in  the 
elementary  schools  and  in  the  high  schools  in  several  Texas  cities  dur- 
ing the  year  1920-21  and  the  percentage  which  the  high  school  en- 
rollment represents  of  the  total: 

TOTAL  NET  ENROLLMENT  IN  1920-21 


City 

High 
School 

Elementary 
School 

All 
Schools 

Percentage   of 
H.   S.    Enrollment 
on    Total 
Enrollment 

Dallas 

5,023 

23624 

28  647 

17 

San   Antonio                     ..    . 

4,178 

23,369 

27547 

15 

Houston  

3,341 

22,653 

25994 

13 

Fort  Worth  

3,388 

15,426 

18814 

18 

El  Paso 

1  873 

12  243 

14  llfi 

19 

Waco  

1,902 

7,591 

9493 

19 

Galveston  

909 

5,219 

6128 

15 

Still  another  basis  for  measuring  the  work  of  a  school  is  by  the 
percentage  of  which  the  total  net  enrollment  in  school  is  of  the  total 
number  of  pupils  on  the  census  roll.  This  shows  the  proportion  of 
those  children  who  ought  to  be  in  school  who  actually  are  in  school. 
This  comparison  is  a  just  one  only  when  due  allowance  is  made  for 
the  character  of  the  population,  whether  white  or  colored,  Mexican  or 
American,  etc.  It  also  should  take  into  consideration  the  number  of 
private  or  parochial  schools  in  the  city  and  the  number  of  children  at- 
tending them.  The  city  of  El  Paso  lists  twenty-six  such  schools. 
Here  again  the  State  Department  of  Education  furnishes  the  following 
figures  as  a  basis  for  comparison,  among  the  city  schools  of  Texas  for 
the  year  1920-21: 


City 

Enumerated 
in  Scholastic 
Census 

Enrolled 
in  Schools 

Prcentage  of 
Enumeration 
Enrolled 

Dallas               

33,000 

28,647 

86 

San  Antonio  

33,219 

27,547 

.83 

Houston 

36,802 

25,994 

71 

Fort    Worth    

22,372 

18,814 

80 

El    Paso  

18,157 

14,116 

77 

Waco 

9,143 

9,493 

Galveston  

8,955 

6,128 

.65 

(42) 


X.     DEPARTMENTS  OF  SCHOOL  WORK 

The  El  Paso  schools  may  be  considered  as  at  present  organized 
under  the  following  general  heads: 
1.     Kindergartens. 
±     Primary  Department. 
.').     Intermediate  Department. 

4.  High  School. 

5.  Junior  College. 
(>.     Special  Classes. 

7.     Extension  Schools. 

With  regard  to  these  seven  departments  the  following  general 
comments  may  be  made. 

1.  The  kindergartens  appear  to   be  doing  good  work  although 
some  of  them  are  badly  overcrowded.     There  are  almost  three  times 
as  many  kindergarten  children  in  the  American  district  as  there  are  in 
the  Mexican  district.     If  it  is  conceded  that  there  is  more  need  for 
kindergartens  in  one  district  than  in  the  other  it  would  surely  be  con- 
ceded that  they  are  needed  more  among  the  Mexican  children  than 
among  the  Americans.     It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  the  most 
approved  practice  in  kindergartens  today  tends  to  bring  them  more 
closely  in  touch  with  the  first  grade.     It  tends  to  introduce  something 
of  the  first  grade  into  the  kindergarten  and  to  retain  much  of  the  kin- 
dergarten in  the  first  grade.     This  is  especially  desirable  among  chil- 
dren who  are  not  familiar  with  the  English  language. 

2.  The  primary  department  in  the  El  Paso  schools  includes  only 
the  first  and  second  grades.     In  most  schools  it  includes  the  third  grade 
also.     It  might  be  well  for  this  change  in  classification  to  be  made, 
since  the  third  grade  is  generally  closer  kin  in  spirit  and  in  methods 
to  the  second  grade  than  to  the  fourth  and  those  above. 

One  excellent  feature  in  the  first  grades  in  the  El  Paso  schools  is 
that  in  dealing  with  the  Mexican  children  who  are  over  the  normal 
age  for  the  first  grade  they  are  ordinarily  grouped  according  to  age. 
For  instance,  there  will  be  one  first  grade  of  seven  or  eight  year  old 
children,  another  of  nine  or  ten  year  old  children,  and  a  third  of  older 
children.  This  gives  each  group  the  opportunity  to  begin  at  the 
same  place  if  need  be,  but  allows  each  group  to  make  progress  in  ac- 
cordance with  its  years  and  maturity. 

A  suggestion  as  to  possible  improvement  is  that  when  children 
have  had  a  certain  amount  of  schooling  in  the  Spanish  language  and 
are  merely  behind  in  English,  they  should  be  placed  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible in  the  grade  in  which  they  fit  in  their  native  tongue.  Special 
instructions  can  be  given  in  English  while  the  child  is  studying  the 
other  subjects  for  which  his  training  fits  him.  This  practice  has  been 
tried  in  many  good  schools  and  has  been  found  to  lessen  the  time  of 
retardation. 

(43) 


3.  The  intermediate  department  is  organized  on  a  departmental 
ba.sis,  from  the  fifth  grade  through  the  seventh.     The  transfer  of  the 
third  grade  to  the  primary  department,  and  of  the  seventh  grade  to 
the  Junior  High  School  would  render  possible  a  more  compact  organiza- 
tion of  the  intermediate  grades  and  might  make  it  possible  to  organize 
the    entire    intermediate    department    on    the    basis    of    departmental 
instruction. 

4.  Suggestion  has  already  been  made  that  both  for  reasons  of 
administrative  economy  and  for  reasons  pertaining  to  better  work  it 
might  be  well  in  the  future  to  reorganize  the  high  school  so  that  there 
may  be  two  junior  high  schools  in  different  sections  of  the  city  and  one 
senior  high  school.     When  this  is  done  the  high  school  course  of  study 
together  with  that  of  the  seventh  year  should  be  reorganized.     As  a 

.'.first  step  in  the  process  the  junior  high  school  nucleus  now  being  de- 
veloped at  Manhattan  School  might  be  gradually  extended  until  it  de- 
velops into  one  of  the  junior  high  school  centers  for  the  city. 

5.  The  junior  college  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  features  of 
the  El  Paso  school  system.     So  far  as  is  generally  known  El  Paso  is 
the  only  city  in  Texas  which  is  developing  the  junior  college  as  a 
feature  of  its  regular  school  system. 

The  junior  college  is  simply  an  addition  of  the  first  and  second 
year  of  college  work  beyond  the  work  of  the  fourth  year  of  the  high 
school.  It  would  not  be  desirable  in  such  cities  as  Houston  or  Austin 
or  Dallas  where  already  institutions  of  higher  learning  are  located. 
The  reason  that  it  is  specially  desirable  in  El  Paso  in  that  this  city 
is  remote  from  most  of  the  state  institutions  of  higher  learning.  It 
is  true  that  the  department  of  mining  of  the  State  University  is  located 
in  El  Paso,  but  this  is  a  technical  school  and  was  not  designed  to  do 
academic  work  for  high  school  graduates.  Many  boys  and  girls  who 
graduate  from  high  school  and  who  would  like  to  take  higher  work 
may  not  be  able  to  go  long  distances  away  to  school.  It  may  not  be 
desirable  for  young  boys  and  girls  just  out  of  high  school  to  be  sent 
long  distances  away  from  home.  The  junior  college  gives  to  El  Paso 
boys  and  girls  the  opportunity  to  do  at  home  the  work  of  the  first  two 
years  of  college  in  such  manner  that  they  will  receive  credit  for  it. 
when  they  go  elsewhere  for  their  third  and  fourth  year  of  college  work. 

The  junior  college  has  at  present  an  enrollment  of  sixty-five  stu- 
dents. The  principal  of  the  high  school  is  also  the  president  of  the 
junior  college.  There  are  eight  teachers  who  give  part  of  their  time 
to  the  work  of  the  junior  college  and  part  to  that  of  the  high  school. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  cost  of  instruction  in  the  junior  college  is 
slightly  over  $100  per  pupil  per  year.  A  portion  of  this  cost  is  covered 
by  the  payment  of  a  tuition  fee  of  $25  per  year.  This  is  estimated 
as  about  the  equivalent  of  the  matriculation  fees  at  the  State  Univer- 
sity. It  would  seem,  however,  that  if  the  junior  college  is  to  be  made 

(44) 


a  part  of  the  free  school  work  of  the  city  of  El  Paso  it  might  be  properly 
placed  completely  upon  a  free  school  basis. 

(i.     The  city  of  El  Paso,  doubtless  on  account  of  financial  reasons 
has  not  done  a  great  deal  in  the  way  of  providing  special-  classes* as  -a. 
feature  of  its  regular  school  work.     It  has  one  class  for  deaf  children 
with  eight  pupils  enrolled.     This  is  at  the  Sunset  School.     The  teacher  i 
receives  a  salary  of  $1,500  per  year  and  the  instructions  in  this  class 
probably  cost  more  per  capita  than  the  instruction  in  any  other  class 
in  the  city.     However,  if  the  work  is  effective  it  is  undoubtedly  worth 
all  il  costs  and  the  city  of  El  Paso  will  not  begrudge  the  expenditure 
of  $187.;"n)  upon  each  one  of  the  children  so  unfortunate  as  to  be,de«.< 
prived  of  his  hearing.  :j 

There  are  no  special  classes  for  subnormal  children.  Unless  the 
children  of  El  Paso  are  different  from  those  of  other  cities  there  is 
doubtless  need  for  such  classes.  It  would  be  well  at  any  rate  to^  inh 
vestigate  this  subject  carefully  and  if  there  is  evidence  of  need,  to  or- 
ganize one  or  more  such  classes  for  the  coming  year. 


. 

XI.     EXTENSION  SCHOOLS 

The  Extension  Schools  are  such  an  important  feature  of  the  work 
of  a  modern  city  school  system  that  especial  attention  should  be  called 
to  them.  These  are  schools  for  the  benefit  of  people  who  are  so 
situated  that  they  cannot  attend  school  under  normal  school  condi- 
tions or  profit  by  the  conventional  school  worjc.  They  are  schools 
that  go  to  the  people  instead  of  asking  the  people  to  come  to  them. 

These  are  represented  in  the  city  of  El  Paso  by  night  school  work 
which  is  carried  on  at  five  different  places  with  enrollment  for  the  cur- 
rent year  as  follows: 

High    School..                                                                         ..  421 

Aoy  School Son 

Franklin     (Vocational) 70 

Court    House....  1<» 

Douglass    (Colored) 2S 

Total....  -~^\ 

The  chief  work  at  some  of  these  schools  consists  of  the  teaching 
of  English  to  foreigners,  many  of  whom  are  adults.  A  systematic 
course  in  Americanization  has  been  worked  out  in  this  connection. 

Then  there  are  classes  in  the  fundamental  branches  of  English 
education.  These  are  primarily  for  the  benefit  of  grown  people  who 
were  in  their  youth  deprived  of  the  opportunity  to  go  to  school, '-<>r 
young  people  who  have  had  to  drop  out  of  school  to  go  to  work.  * 

Then  there  are  courses  in  commercial  subjects  and  in  the  various 
vocational  subjects.  :  , 


It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  English  when  properly  taughi 
to  Mexican  children  is  as  strictly  a  vocational  subject  as  is  stenography 
or  blacksmithing.  The  Mexican  child  who  knows  how  to  speak  Eng- 
lish and  to  read  and  write  it  with  even  a  reasonable  degree  of  pro- 
ficiency certainly  has  a  great  advantage  in  the  matter  of  earning  a 
living  in  the  United  States  over  the  Mexican  child  who  cannot  do 
these  things. 

Along  vocational  lines  the  schools  of  El  Paso  are  co-operating 
with  the  United  States  Government  under  the  Smith-Hughes  Law  and 
with  the  State  of  Texas.  This  means  that  in  these  vocational  sub- 
jects the  Federal  Government  bears  half  of  the  expense  of  the  teach- 
er's salary.  For  certain  classes  the  State  of  Texas  pays  one-half  of 
the  other  half.  The  city  of  El  Paso  therefore  pays  half  of  the  salaries 
of  the  teachers  of  some  vocational  classes  and  one-fourth  of  the  salary 
of  others. 

These  vocational  classes  conducted  under  the  Smith-Hughes  Law 
come  under  three  general  heads:  Day  school  classes,  night  school 
classes,  and  part-time  classes.  In  the  group  last  mentioned  those  en- 
rolled attend  school  for  a  portion  of  the  time  they  are  employed,  and 
receive  pay  from  their  employers  for  the  time  spent  in  school.  This 
arrangement  can,  of  course,  only  be  made  by  co-operation  between  their 
employers  and  the  schools. 

The  classes  in'  vocational  subjects  receiving  Smith-Hughes  aid 
with  their  enrollment  are  as  follows: 


Department 

Period 

Classes 

Total 
Enrollment 

Auto    Mechanics  .. 

Day  School 

2 

38 

Machine  Shop  Processes  
Printing  and  Linotyping  
Auto    Mechanics 

Day  School 
Day  School 
Night  School 

2 

1 
1 

25 

7 
44 

Carpentry   and   Estimating 

Night  School 

1 

17 

Sheet   Metal   Work 

Night  School 

1 

14 

Machine   Shop  Work  
Blue  Print  Reading 

Night  School 
Night  School 

1 

1 

12 

10 

Printing  ......  
Dietetics  for  Nurses  at  Hospital....  
Printing    Enrollment  
Cooking  for  Domestic  Servants  (at  Alta  Vista) 

Night  School 
Part-Time 
Part-Time 
Part-Time 

1 
1 
1 
1 

7 
10 
7 
10 

This  gives  in  the  vocational  classes  a  net  enrollment  of  70  in  the 
regular  day  school,  104  in  the  night  school,  and  27  in  part-time  work, 
or  201  in  all. 

For  this  vocational  work  the  total  extent  of  teacher's  salaries  for 
the  current  school  year  will  be  $7,968.  Of  this  amount  the  Federal 
Government  and  the  State  of  Texas  will  pay  $4,498,  leaving  $:],470 
as  the  net  expense  to  the  city  of  El  Paso  in  keeping  up  this  work.  This 
means  only  a  trifle  over  $17  for  each  of  the  201  pupils  enrolled.  It  is 

(46) 


much  less  than  the  per  capita  in  the  day  schools.  There  is  probably 
no  money  spent  by  the  city  of  El  Paso  for  which  greater  returns  are 
received. 

A  night  school  is  the  most  democratic  institution  in  the  world.  It 
probably  comes  nearer  being  a  manifestation  of  genuine  civic  Chris- 
tianity than  does  any  other  institution  in  the  world.  It  brings  oppor- 
tunities to  those  who  either  have  not  had  them  or  have  lost  them. 

The  only  regret  that  can  be  expressed  concerning  the  night  school 
work  in  the  city  of  El  Paso  is  that  ft  is  not  larger.  Surely  out  of  so 
large  a  number  of  people  who  cannot  speak  the  English  language  there 
must  be  thousands  who  would  like  to  learn  and  who  would  be  willing 
to  come  to  school  at  night  for  that  purpose. 

It  would  pay  the  city  oi  El  Paso  to  employ  some  one  person  who 
would  give  a  large  portion  of  his  time  to  the  work  of  the  night  schools, 
and  especially  to  the  work  of  bringing  into  them  people  who  need  to 
learn  the  English  language  and  American  ideals.  Such  a  person  could 
perform  a  genuine  international  service. 

Meantime  no  citizen  of  El  Paso  ought  to  consider  that  he  is  fully 
awake  to  the  real  civic  work  of  his  home  town  if  he  has  not  visited 
these  night  schools  and  seen  the  great  work  actually  going  on. 

A  movement  now  under  contemplation  by  the  public  school  au- 
thorities of  El  Paso  is  that  of  establishing  classes  in  retail  salesman- 
ship on  a  part-time  basis  in  co-operation  with  a  number  of  the  large 
dry  goods  stores  of  the  city.  The  delay  has  been  caused  by  difficulty 
in  securing  a  teacher  with  proper  qualifications.  It  is  an  excellent 
movement  and  should  be  put  into  effect  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 
The  boys  and  girls  who  are  selling  goods  in  the  city  have,  in  many  in- 
stances, not  received  that  degree  of  education  or  that  kind  which  is 
essential  to  their  advancement  in  the  world  and  to  their  rendering  to 
the  public  the  greatest  service  of  which  they  are  capable.  To  fur- 
nish the  opportunity  to  secure  this  education  would  be  a  great  help 
to  the  boys  and  girls  themselves  and  also  to  the  general  public. 


XII.     ORGANIZED   CO-OPERATION   IN   THE 
COMMUNITY 

The  time  has  long  since  passed  when  a  good  school  considers  that 
jt  can  by  itself  do  all  that  needs  to  be  done  for  the  education  of  a  com- 
munity. Good  schools  today  desire  and  expect  the  organized  co- 
operation of  all  of  the  forces  for  good  existing  in  the  community. 

Among  these  organizations  in  the  city  of  El  Paso  is  the  Parent- 
Teachers  Association.  There  are  eight  of  these  organizations  among 
the  sixteen  schools  of  the  city,  all  of  them  on  the  American  side  of  the 

(47) 


city.  Many  of  these  have  been  potent  factors  in  the  work  for  good 
in  the  city.  In  some  instances  they  have  concerned  themseles  with  the" 
beautification  of  the  school  grounds.  At  Manhattan  School  they  haive 
taken  an  interest  in  the  establishment  of  hot  lunches.  At  the  More'?1 
head  School  and  several  others  they  have  taken  up  the  matter'of  the 
weighing  and  measurement  of  children  and  the  study  of  child  d'feteticsl^ 

"  "<        .^l   v, L'FfT '',h 

All  such  work  is  helpful.     The  only  pity  is  that  there  is  not  more, 
of  it.     When  school   boards  are  as  much  overburdened  in  financial 
matters  as  the  average  school  board  is,  there  is  always  some : 'oppor- 
tunity for  the  good  co-operating  organization  to  take  up  and  estarjSsW' 
A/ter-it  is  once  established  it  may  later  on  be  turned  over  to  the  school' 

board  to  be  thereafter  supported  out  of  private  funds. 

rv      '»t  "- ~T.    '•.  *>f 

jor  all  cpncerried  when  such  organizations  ;.talke  up  ac- 
form  o  f  constr  uctive  service  for  the  schools .  There 
iy,  s^ch  lin§s  open.  There  are  numerous  places,  in,' :the  schools, 
w&ere  hob inches  .should  be  served .  A  systematic  weighing  and;  meas- 1 
urement  of  the  children  all  over  the  city,  with  ^.specia^  study  1  of  tlie^ 
n}artt^?o|,(naaLnutrition  and  its  remedies,  would  be  a  great  service  to 
tfte'j  cJjiidren  of,  El  Paso  and  could  be  backed  and  supporfed.  creditably 
by  the  Pg$ en t-Teacher  •.  Association.  There  is  -urgent  neeft,  for  m6fj£ 
help  in  dpinc.the  health  work  for  the  city  schools.  The  pa\^^ri\^w 
sajanes  for  one  or  more  nurses  would  be  an  excellent  work  for %ny  co- 
( operative  organization.  '  .tt 

In  counting  up  the  school  forces  of  the  city  it  is  a  great*  rrii 
to  omit , to,,  consider  the  organized  patrons  of  the  schools."   Thev^  are5 
wonderful  capacity  for  constructive  service. 

There-are  various  other  organizations  of  a  semi-civic  nature jyWc^ 
are  capable  of  rendering  great  help  to  the  schools.  Amon£  ...tne.si  '.are 
such  organizations  as  the  Rotary  Club,  the  Kiwanis  Clu'),  tne:  ' 

etc.     These  organizations  in  El   Paso  have  taken  .a 
of  interest  in  the  public  schools  but  seem  not  to  have 
as  has  been  done  in  some  other  cities  in  Texas  and;  >r 

Rotary  Club,  through  its  Boys'  Committee,  has  gotten  behind  the  feoy 
Scout  movement  and  has  done  an  excellent  work  by  its  service  to  this 
institution.  It  might  however  come  more  closely  in  touch  with  the 
actual  public  work  than  it  does.  In  numerous  cities,  Rotary  clubs 
have  made  personal  carnpaigns  among  all  the  boys  of  the?  city  in  the 
interest  of  the  "Stay  in  School"  movement  and  other  movements  of 
like  nature.  In  some  instances  they  have  furnished  employ.me-nt  to 
boys  at  such  hours  as  would  enable  them  to  continue  the^r,^Qr|;.  in 
school,  and  in  other  instances. have  loaned  money  ta nieedy  boys^ii- 
able  them  to  continue  their  work  in  school.  These  clubs  in.^j!|Sso 
have  already  been  of  service  to  the  city  schools  in  several  ways'b'ut 
thepe  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  possible  for  them  to  render  rrjore  service 
to  theniv  •*& 

•      •   .:....::!,<    •          .     -,d: 
(48) 


The  payment  of  the  salary  of  an  additional  school  nurse. would  not 
be  a  great  task  for  one  of  these  organizations  and  would  be  a  service 
of  untold  value  to  the  community. 

One  of  the  organizations  that  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  th.e 
El  Paso  schools  is  the  Young  Men's  Business  League  of  the  city.  ,  This 
organization  about  a  year  ago  undertook  and  made  a  very  credit- 
able study  of  the  needs  of  the  schools  along  such  material,  lines 
as  buildings,  grounds,  and  financial  support.  They  did  not  make 
a  study  of  the  instruction  or  the  course  of  study  but  recommended  that 
in  the  future  a  survey  should  be  made  which  would  include  all  these 
things.  The  study  made  by  this  organization  undoubtedly  was,  help- 
ful to  the  schools.  It  is  hoped  that  the  Young  Men's  Business  League 
within  the  future  continues  to  take  the  same  active,  helpful  interest  in 
school  affairs  which  it  has  previously  taken. 


XTII.     THE  WIDER  USE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  PLANT 
AND  EQUIPMENT 

It  is  coming  to  be  a  well  recognized  fact  that  when  a  citv.  has 
millions  of  dollars  invested  in  school  buildings  and  grounds,  it  is  too 
large  a  sum  to  allow  the  property  to  be  used  for  only  six  hours  a  day, 
five  days  a  week  and  nine  months  in  the  year.  It  is  in  the  interests 
of  real  civic  economy  to  use  these  buildings  and  grounds,  as  much  as 
possible.  A  factory  which  is  running  only  a  fourth  of  the  day  and i- for 
a  portion  of  the  days  in  the  week  would  not  be,  considered  as  eco- 
nomically managed. 

Not  a  great  deal  seems  to  have  been  done  in  El  Paso  concerning 
the  wider  use  of  the  school  plant.  The  night  schools,  the  summer 
schools  and  the  meetings  of  the  Parent-Teacher  Associations  seem  to 
be  the  chief  occasions  for  using  the  school  buildings  outside  the  regu- 
lar school  hours. 

The  rules  of  the  school  forbid  the  use  of  the  buildings  for  religious 
purposes  or  for  political  discussions  or  for  dancing.  The  forbidding 
of  these  three  things  cuts  off  a  number  of  these  interests  which  appeal 
to  the  average  man  or  woman. 

The  regulation  of  questions  of  this  sort  is  a  matter  which  of  course 
each  community  must  decide  for  itself.  Much  depends  upon  local 
sentiment. 

After  all,  however,  the  school  buildings  belong  to  the  people.  Why 
have  not  the  people  the  right  to  use  them  within  reasonable  limit  as 
they  see  fit?  Is  there  anything  disgraceful  in  the  matter  of  religion 
or  in  the  matter  of  politics?  There  may  have  been  a  time  once  when 
a  political  meeting  may  have  been  considered  not  a  place  for  good 

(49) 


citizens  to  go.  Is  it  not  considered  today  however,  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  good  citizens,  including  good  women,  to  take  an  intelligent  interest 
in  political  affairs?  If  the  women  and  the  men  alike  should  be  well 
informed  in  regard  to  political  matters  what  more  suitable  a  ptace 
is  there  for  them  to  go  to  obtain  such  information  than  to  the  school 
house? 

However  opinions  may  differ  in  regard  to  these  particular  mat- 
ters, surely  no  one  in  this  day  and  time  would  object  to  seeing  the 
school  buildings  used  for  matters  pertaining  to  the  general  welfare  of 
the  community.  Certain  it  is  that  the  community  forum  or  the  com- 
munity council  is  an  excellent  organization  for  the  development  of 
community  welfare,  and  that  the  general  tendency  in  progressive  cities 
is  to  make  use  of  their  school  buildings  outside  of  school  hours  for 
community  purposes. 

Little  seems  to  be  done  in  El  Paso  in  the  matter  of  playgrounds, 
particularly  in  connection  with  public  schools.  One  of  the  reasons  for 
this  is  that  in  many  instances  the  school  grounds  are  not  large  enough 
to  be  of  much  service  outside  of  school  hours.  Another  reason  is  that 
some  years  back  there  was  a  considerable  amount  of  playground  work 
done  in  the  city  and  there  was  a  considerable  reaction  of  public  sen- 
timent against  it.  The  city  of  El  Paso  is  strong  in  so  many  depart- 
ments of  civic  life  that  it  is  regrettable  to  find  that  it  is  weak  in  the 
matter  of  parks  and  playgrounds.  It  is  earnestly  recommended  that 
all  school  sites  selected  for  future  buildings  should  be  large  enough  to 
provide  at  least  reasonable  playground  for  the  children.  A  minimum 
of  two  city  blocks  for  a  school  of  any  considerable  size  should  be  kept 
in  mind.  If  financially  possible  supervised  play  should  be  maintained 
during  the  summer  holidays  and  at  suitable  hours  during  the  school 
year. 


XIV.     HEALTH  WORK  IN  THE  SCHOOLS 

There  is  no  more  important  question  that  can  be  asked  concern- 
ing the  work  in  a  city  school  system  than  the  question  as  to  what  the 
school  is  doing  to  safeguard  the  health  of  the  children  and  their  teach- 
ers. Any  school  system  which  graduates  its  children  in  a  condition  of 
nervousness,  with  impaired  eyesight,  or  with  poorer  general  health  than 
they  had  when  they  entered,-  is  doing  the  children  an  injury  for  which 
no  amount  of  mental  training  can  afford  compensation. 

Any  school  system  which  exposes  great  masses  of  children  need- 
lessly to  epidemics  is  well  nigh  criminally  negligent.  It  used  to  be 
that  in  times  of  epidemics  parents  kept  their  children  at  home  as  a 
matter  of  safety.  Today  in  a  good  modern  school  system  the  school 
is  the  safest  place  to  which  parents  can  send  their  children  under  such 

(50) 


circumstances.  This  condition  cannot  be  brought  about,  however, 
without  great  care  on  the  part  of  the  school  authorities  and  without 
the  expenditure  of  considerable  sums  of  money,  for  matters  pertain- 
ing to  health. 

The  chief  criticism  to  be  made  on  health  work  in  the  city  schools 
of  El  Paso  is  that  there  is  not  enough  of  it.  What  there  is  has  been 
introduced  within  the  last  few  years.  All  that  has  been  done  is  a 
step  in  the  right  direction,  but  the  interests  of  the  community  require 
that  still  more  be  done. 

The  forces  working  for  the  health  of  the  El  Paso  school  children 
may  be  enumerated  as  follows: 

1.  The  city  physician,  paid  by  the  city,  devotes  half  his  time 
to  health  work  in  the  schools. 

2.  One  nurse  paid  by  the  school  board,  devotes  her  entire  time 
to  health  work  in  the  schools. 

3.  Two  women  known  as  "hygienists,"  not  trained  nurses,  de- 
vote their  time  to  such  health  work  as  untrained  workers  can  do. 

4.  An  extra  physician  furnished  by  the  city  devotes  such  portion 
of  his  time  as  may  be  needed  to  the  work  of  vaccinating  school  children. 

5.  There  have  been  two  physicians  who  in  recent  months  have 
given  on  a  volunteer  basis  such  time  to  the  schools  as  they  could  spare 
from  their  regular  practice.     One  of  these  has  recently  moved  from 
the  city. 

There  can  not  be  the  slightest  doubt  that  all  these  agencies  have 
rendered  faithful  service  and  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good.  Never- 
theless the  task  before  them  has  been  a  tremendous  one.  The  mere 
task  of  vaccinating  13,000  school  children  is  no  small  one.  The  task 
of  seeing  that  they  are  kept  free  from  contagious  diseases  is  still  larger. 
The  task  of  seeing  that  each  one  of  these  13,000  children  is  free  from 
preventable  physical  defects  and  receive  that  particular  kind  of  physical 
training  which  his  needs  demand  is  truly  a  stupendous  one. 

To  begin  with  there  should  be  at  least  one  physician  who  gives 
his  entire  time  to  health  work  in  the  schools.  If  need  be,  he  should  be 
paid  by  the  school  board.  In  any  event  he  should  give  his  entire  time 
to  the  schools  and  should  work  under  the  direction  of  the  schools. 

Under  present  conditions  a  faithful  effort  is  made  to  inspect  the 
children  for  contagious  diseases  and  for  defects  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose 
and  throat.  Nevertheless  half  the  school  day  does  not  allow  sufficient 
time  for  properly  making  such  inspection.  One  principal  summed  up 
the  situation  by  saying,  "The  doctor  has  only  time  enough  to  catch 
such  defects  as  he  can  see  during  the  time  the  pupil  is  coming  across 
the  room  toward  him.''  This  is  not  as  much  time  as  is  needed  though 
it  is  all  that  can  be  obtained  under  present  conditions. 

In  the  second  place  there  should  be  more  than  one  local  nurse 
employed.  It  was  a  matter  of  general  belief  among  the  principals 

(51) 


that  the  one  nurse  now  employed  renders  services  of  a  very  high  order. 
The  only  regret  is  that  there  are  not  more  of  them. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  at  a  school  like  Aoy,  attended  by  2,000  Mexi- 
can children,  many  of  whom  come  from  the  poorer  families,  and  mariy 
of  whom  have  not  been  trained  to  the  American  standards  of  cleanli- 
ness and  hygiene,  there  is  abundance  of  work  for  taking  the'  services 
of  a  good  school  nurse  for  every  moment  of  her  working  time.  One 
such  nurse  could  also  be  used  profitably  at  Beall  School.  The  welfare 
of  the  city  would  be  greatly  advanced  by  the  employment  of  at  least 
four  trained  nurses  for  full  time  work  in  the  schools,  and  six  woulft 
be  better. 

In  the  city  schools  at  Houston  several  years  ago;  there  were  four- 
teen nurses  employed  for  work  in  the  city  schools.  However,  not  all 
of  these  were  paid  by  the  school  board.  One  was  furnished  by  the 
Anti-Tuberculosis  League,  one  by  the  Red  Cross,  two  -by.-  the  United 
States  Government  Health  Service,  two  by  the  city  and  possibly  others 
by  other  co-operative  organizations. 

Is  not  the  situation  in  El  Paso  such  that  it  might  be  helped  by 
similar  co-operation?  Is  it  a  case  where  several  organizations  could 
furnish  a  nurse,  all  of  the  nurses  to  give  full  time  to  health  work  in  the 
schools,  under  the  direction  of  the  school  board  and  under  the  spe- 
cial charge  of  a  full  time  physician  to  be  employed  by  the  board?  There 
is  no  work  which  could  be  done  by  parent-teacher  associations,,  or  by 
such  organizations  as  the  Rotary  Club  or  the  Kiwanis  Club  which  could 
possibly  result  in  greater  good  to  the  city  schools  of  El  Paso  and  to 
the  city  itself. 

A  third  specific  suggestion  in  regard  to  the  health  work  is  that 
there  should  be  some  one  person  charged  with  the  responsibility.,  of  de- 
ciding what  pupils  shall  be  excluded  from  school  on  account  pf, danger 
from  contagious  diseases,  and  when  such  children  may  with  safety,  be 
readmitted  to  school.  This  one  person  should  be  .the .school  physician, 
Certificates  of  safety  written  by  other  physicians  should-  he.  submitted 
to  him  for  his  approval  or  disapproval.  He  should ...  present  .Hp  the 
board,  and  the  board  should  approve  a  certain  schedule  giving n  the, 
length  of  time  which  must  elapse  after  a  pupil  has  been. exposed. .to^tjie 
various  contagious  diseases  or  has  recovered  from  one  of  them,,  before 
he  can  safely  be  admitted  to  school.  , 

The  work  of  two  hygienists  above  referred  to  has  prove^hiex- 
ceedingly  helpful.  A  considerable  portion  of*  their  ;timje  is  t-akdfi -:iif>. 
with  what  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  "delousing"  which  >4s  •  a 
important  operation  in  certain  districts.  They  are>  also  a 
in  other  matters  pertaining  to  the  cleanliness  of  school' chilcfren:^ They 
abundantly  earn  their  salaries,  but  it  is,  of  course,  notv.«pctssiMe;  f©;r 
them  to  render  services  which  require  the  preparation -••thaV-'a"  trained' 
nurse  must  have.  i  -.  w 

(52)  '     ll       Svtn» 


V.-ivThe  volunteer  services  rendered  by  certain  physicians  have  also 
been  -extremely  .helpful.  Doubtless  there  are  other  physicians  in  El 
Paso  who  wtfuld  also  be  glad  to  give  a  part  of  their  time  to  school 
work,  under  the  general  oversight  of  the  school  physician. 
Jri  No  special  provision  has  been  made,  for  dental  work  in  the  schools. 
As :  soon  as  finances  will  allow  at  least  one  dental  clinic  ought  to  be 
established. 

None  <jf  the  schools  visited  were  menaced  by  the  use  of  the  com- 
mon drinking  cup  by  the  school  children.  Most  of  them  though  not 
all,  were  ./.provided  with  sanitary  drinking  fountains.  Some  did  not 
have;  as  many  appliances  as  were  needed,  and  in  some  schools  the 
appliances  .were  not  of  the  most  approved  pattern. 

It  would  be  better  for  the  health  of  the  children  if  more  provision 
were  made  for  supervised  play  and  more  for  the  proper  kind  of  phy- 
sical education.  It  would  be  helpful  also  if  systematic  lessons  in 
hygiene. were  outlined  for  each  grade. 

While  the  schools  of  El  Paso  have  recently  made  an  excellent  be- 
ginning in  the  matter  of  health  work,  it  should  nevertheless  be  recog- 
nized that  it  is- only  a  beginning  and  that  the  schools  in  general  are 
not  so  strong  in  this  very  important  matter  as  they  are  in  some  other 
particulars. 


XV.     COMPULSORY    SCHOOL    ATTENDANCE. 

\  In  the  school  census  taken  in  March,  1921,  there  were  19,811 
school  children  enumerated  as  being  of  school  age  and  therefore  right- 
fully entitled  to  attend  the  city  schools  of  El  Paso.  It  is  certain  that 
there  , were  fully  as  many  in  December  of  that  year  as  there  were  in 
March  and  doubtless  a  few  more. 

On  December  14,  1921,  there  were  actually  enrolled  in  the  El 
Paso  schools  13,013  children.  A  comparison  with  the  census  enumera- 
tipn  shows  that  on  that  date  there  were  6,798  fewer  children  in  the 
city  .schools  than  there  were  on  the  census  rolls. 

;.;  It -was  ascertained  by  the  census  taker  last  spring  that  4,400  chil- 
dren are  enrolled  in  the  private  and  parochial  schools  of  the  city.  This 
would-  make  it  evident  that  at  least  2,398  children  of  school  age  in  the 
city  have  not  been  enrolled  in  any  school  during  the  year. 

In  other  words  more  than  one-third  of  the  school  children  of  the 
city  have  -not  been  in  any  school  during  the  year,  and  considerably 
more  than  one-eighth  have  not  been  enrolled  in  any  school  at  all. 

This  is  in  despite  of  the  fact  that  the  State  laws  of  Texas  require 
that  every  pupil  up  to  fourteen  years  of  age  shall  attend  school  un- 
less legally  excused. 

(53) 


It  is  startling  to  note  that  between  a  fourth  and  a  fifth  of  all  the 
school  children  of  the  city  are  enrolled  in  private  schools.  It  may 
as  well  be  recognized  that  but  for  these  private  schools  the  city  would 
this  year  be  absolutely  unable  to  care  for  its  school  children.  It  is 
perfectly  right  and  proper  for  any  parent  to  send  his  children  to  a 
good  private  school  if  he  prefers  to  do  so,  but  it  is  altogther  wrong 
and  improper  for  him  to  have  to  send  them  there  when  he  does  not 
desire  because  of  the  lack  of  facilities  in  the  public  schools. 

It  is  doubtless  the  case  that  many  parents  are  sending  to  the 
private  schools  on  account  of  religious  views.  It  is  also  probably  true 
that  some  are  sending  on  account  of  the  overcrowding  conditions  in 
the  public  schools.  When  one-third  of  all  the  children  in  the  elemen- 
tary schools  of  the  city  are  on  part-time  attendance  it  is  hardly  worth 
while  to  expect  many  additional  children. 

This  is  one  reason  why  no  very  serious  effort  seems  to  be  made  in 
El  Paso  to  enforce  the  compulsory  attendance  laws  of  the  State.  It  is 
true  that  there  are  two  attendance  officers,  one  of  whom  gives  most 
of  his  time  to  work  among  the  Mexican  children  and  the  other  of  whom 
works  chiefly  among  the  Americans.  It  is  also  true  that  these  men 
have  succeeded  in  placing  in  school  a  considerable  number  of  children 
who  would  probably  not  have  been  there  otherwise.  These  men  have 
also  been  of  considerable  service  as  truant  officers,  helping  the  schools 
to  keep  track  of  the  irregular  or  unexcused  absences. 

The  compulsory  attendance  laws  of  the  State  are  full  of  loop  holes. 
They  afford  many  opportunities  for  a  parent  who  wishes  to  keep  his 
children  out  of  school  to  avoid  the  law.  It  is  further  true  that  many 
of  the  judicial  officers  of  the  State  are  not  in  sympathy  with  the  spirit 
of  the  compulsory  law.  Consequently  the  law  is  not  rigidly  enforced 
throughout  the  State  as  a  whole  and  in  El  Paso  the  enforcement  is 
less  than  in  most  portions  of  the  State.  There  have  been  no  prosecu- 
tions in  the  city  for  violation  of  the  law  and  consequently  no  penalties 
inflicted,  although  the  figures  show  that  both  the  letter  and  the  spirit 
of  the  law  are  being  violated  to  a  considerable  extent. 

However,  it  is  worthy  of  remark  in  passing  that  the  enactment  of 
the  compulsory  education  law  has  in  itself  been  a  help,  notwithstand- 
ing the  laxity  in  the  law's  enforcement.  As  one  principal  of  the  El 
Paso  schools  remarked,  "The  compulsory  attendance  law  is  only  a  great 
big  bluff,  but  it  has  been  a  helpful  bluff  nevertheless.  Formerly  I  was 
almost  by  myself  in  making  the  bluff  but  now  I  have  an  officer  with  a 
blue  coat  and  a  silver  star  to  help  me  bluff. 

When  one-third  of  all  the  children  in  the  elementary  schools  of 
the  city  are  already  on  part-time  attendance,  it  would  be  futile  to  ad- 
vise rigid  enforcement  of  the  compulsory  education  law.  In  other 
words  it  is  useless  to  try  to  compel  children  to  come  to  school  when 
the  schools  cannot  take  care  of  the  children  they  have.  The  recom- 

(54) 


mendation  in  this  case  is  that  the  city  first  provide  the  facilities  to 
take  care  of  the  school  children  and  after  that  take  steps  to  compel 
every  child  of  compulsory  school  age  who  is  not  in  some  school,  to 

attend  school. 


XVI.     RECORDS  AND  REPORTS. 

The  El  Paso  schools  have  a  somewhat  elaborate  system  of  records 
and  reports,-  and  have  printed  forms  for  the  making  of  these.  There 
is  one  card  used  which  gives  the  complete  record  of  each  child  during 
the  years  he  is  in  the  El  Paso  school  system.  These  cards  are  kept 
at  the  buildings  which  the  children  attend.  If  the  child  is  transferred 
his  card  is  transferred  with  him. 

One  weakness  in  the  system  is  that  when  inquiry  is  made  con- 
cerning some  specific  child  it  is  difficult  to  locate  the  information  unless 
the  building  which  the  child  attends  is  known.  Such  inquiries  are 
not  infrequently  made  when  children  move  to  other  states  and  wish  to 
secure  a  record  of  their  school  work  in  El  Paso  for  use  either  in  de- 
termining their  standing  in  school  or  obtaining  clearance  papers  to 
allow  them  exemption  from  school  work. 

Some  years  ago  a  transcript  of  the  names  of  the  children  at  the 
various  buildings  was  filed  in  the  superintendent's  office,  but  during 
recent  years  this  process  has  been  discontinued.  It  is  therefore  at 
present  easier  to  find  information  concerning  children  who  attended 
the  El  Paso  schools  twenty  years  ago  than  concerning  those  who  at- 
tended ten  years  ago.  Whether  the  demand  for  such  information  is 
sufficiently  great  to  justify  the  extra  labor  required  in  tabulating  in 
the  central  office  is  a  question  for  the  school  authorities  to  consider 
carefully  in  the  light  of  their  actual  experience.  It  is  a  fact  however, 
that  without  the  central  file  the  information  is  not  altogether  complete. 

Formerly  a  card  was  kept  giving  detailed  information  concern- 
ing the  health  of  each  school  child.  The  use  of  this  card  has  also  been 
discontinued. 

One  feature  of  the  matter  of  reports  is  that  every  day  each  prin- 
cipal sends  to  the  superintendent's  office  certain  information  showing 
the  number  enrolled,  the  number  belonging,  the  number  present,  the 
number  absent  and  the  number  tardy  in  each  school  room,  with  the 
totals  for  the  building,  and  with  the  hour  of  the  teacher's  arrival  at 
school  certified  by  the  signature  of  the  teacher.  While  it  is  desirable 
and  necessary  that  the  superintendent's  office  should  receive  the  figures 
at  stated  times  concerning  enrollment  and  attendance,  it  would  hardly 
seem  necessary  that  he  receive  this  information  every  day.  The  making 
of  this  daily  report  must  be  more  or  less  burdensome  and  apparently 
might  be  dispensed  with. 

(55) 


A  printed  form  is  used  to  give  to  each  teacher  her  notice  of  elec- 
tion; to  set  forth  the  details  concerning  the  employment  and  to  serve 
as-  a  contract.  There  is  also  a  printed  form  which  the  teacher  may 
detach  and  return  with  her  signature  to  signify  her  acceptance  of  the 
position. 

The  pupils  monthly  report  cards  used  in  the  elementary  grades 
contain  a  scale  for  grading  ^comprised  in  four  letters:  "E"  for  excellent, 
90-100  per  cent;  "G"  for 'good,  80-90  per  cent;  "P"  for  poor,  70-80 
per  cent;  ".F"  for  failure.  In  the  high  school  these  letters  are  not 
used  but  the  grading  is  on  the  basis  of  the  decimal  or  percentage  scale. 

The  general  tendency  in  good  schools  is  away  from  the  decimal 
system  of  grading  toward  the  indicating  of  merely  the  broader  general 
classifications  of  standing.  For  instance  if  you  state  that  one  stu- 
dent is  good  and  another  is  excellent,  everyone  knows  what  that  dif- 
ference means.  On  the  other  hand  if  you  state  that  one  pupil  has  a 
standing  of  78  per  cent  and  another  one  of  79  per  cent,  it  is  hard  to 
grasp  the  real  meaning  of  this  distinction.  The  pupils  are  evidently 
considered  of  almost  equal  standing,  but  whether  they  are  both  poor, 
both  medium  or  both  excellent  depends  almost  totally  upon  the  system 
of  grading  used  or  upon  the  personal  equation  of  the  one  who  gave 
the  grade. 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  considerable  amount  of  discussion  in 
regard  to  the  grades  given  in  the  high  school  and  just  what  the  figures 
of  percentage  mean,  in  such  cases.  The  matter  might  be  simplified 
if  no  effort  were  made  to  indicate  minute  differences  and  if  only  broad 
genera]  differences  were  pointed  out.  If  the  four  letters  used  in  the 
grade  schools  are  not  considered  sufficient  a  scheme  of  five  symbols 
could  readily  be  devised,  such  as  a,  b,  c,  d,  e;  5,  4,  3,  2,.  1;  1,  2,  3,  4,  5; 
these  symbols  could,  if  desired,  be  accompanied  by  a  scale  of  approxi- 
mate equivalents  in  percentages.  The  matter  is  respectfully  referred 
for  the  consideration  of  the  school  authorities. 

Last  summer  the  financial  report  of  the  schools  was  published  in 
a  special  pamphlet,  but  the  annual  report  of  the  superintendent  has 
not  been  printed  as  a  separate  volume  for  several  years.  It  is  recom- 
mended that  each  year  a  small  volume  be  published  giving  the  super- 
intendent's annual  report,  including  the  important  statistics  of  the 
school  for  the  year.  This  same  volume  should  include  the  financial  re- 
port and  the  report  of  at  least  some  of  the  supervisors  of  the  schools. 

The  issuance  of  his  annual  volume  would  seem  to  be  an  important 
matter,  ft  is  'valuable  as  a  means  for  placing  before  the  public  the 
needs  of  the  school  and  also  a  record  of  its  accomplishments.  It  is 
also  valuable  as  being  a  part  of  the  permanent  records  of  the  schools. 
It  is  highly  desirable  that  there  be  on  file  such  a  permanent  record  of 
the  history  of  the  schools  for  each  year  of  their  operation. 

(56) 


XVII.     SUMMARY  OF  CONCLUSION 

The  fourteen  divisions  of  this  report  preceding  have  been  devoted 
to  a  study  of  fourteen  of  the  vital  items  affecting  the  welfare  and  the 
efficiency  of  a  school  system.  This  particular  subdivision  is  intended 
to  give  a  summary  of  the  conclusions  reached  in  regard  to  each  one  of 
these  features. 

1.  The  outstanding  facts  concerning  the  city  of  El  Paso  itself  so 
far  as  they  have  any  special  bearing  upon  its  school  system  is  that 
it  is  a  city  of  very  rapid  growth,  having  practically  doubled  in  size 
in  ten  years;  that  it  is  so  situated  as  to  be  largely  isolated  from  other 
of  the  larger  cities;  that  almost  60  per  cent  of  its  people  are  of  Mexi- 
can birth  or  extraction;  that  its  population  contains  elements  differing 
largely  in  race,   in  religion,   in  political  sentiments,   in  language,   in 
wealth;  that  its  proximity  to  Mexico  gives  it  certain  international  ''m- 
portance  and  international  duties  such  as  few  other  cities  in  America 
possess. 

2.  The  organization  of  the  school  system  is  somewhat  anomalous 
in  that  while  it  is  supposed  to  be  organized  as  an  independent  school 
district,  no  record  of  the  date  or  even  of  the  fact  of  such  organization 
can  be  found.     As  a  result  it  has  certain  disadvantages  not  found  in 
the  organization  of  other  school  systems,  and  seems  to  lack  certain 
financial  powers  conferred  by  the  general  school  laws  of  the  State  upon 
cities  whose  status  as  independent  school  districts  is  clearly  determined. 

3.  The  school  board  is  elected  from  the  city  at  large  under  the 
general  school  laws  of  the  State.     Of  the  present  ooard  members  one 
has  served  for  five  and  one-half  years,  one  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and 
the  other  five  for  less  than  a  year.     The  board  seems  in  general  in- 
clined to  leave  the  administration  of  educational  affairs  in  the  hands 
of  the  superintendent. 

4.  More  money  is  needed  for  the  support  of  the  schools.     This 
might  be  supplied  in  either  one  of  three  ways:  By  increasing  the  rate  of 
school  taxation  through  vote  of  the  people,  by  supplemental  appropri- 
ations from  general   revenues  made  by  the  city  commission,   or   by 
raising  the  percentage  of  the  rendition  of  values  for  taxation.       The 
salary  schedule  in  the  city  is  as  good  as  the  average  in  the  state  but 
not  as  good  as  the  best. 

f>.  There  is  an  excellent  high  school  building  although  it  is  not 
so  large  as  the  needs  of  the  city  require.  The  school  buildings  for 
elementary  school  purposes  are  altogether  inadequate  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  city.  'As  a  result  one-third  of  the  children  in  the  elementary 
schools  are  attending  for  only  a  portion  of  the  time.  Practically  all 
the  school  grounds  are  smaller  than  they  ought  to  be.  There  are  only 
ihree  really  modern  up-to-date  public  school  buildings  in  the  city; 
namely  the  High  School,  Manhattan,  and  Alta  Vista.  The  primary 

(57) 


rooms  are  equipped  with  rigid  school  desks  though  the  kindergartens 
have  movable  tables  and  chairs.  Most  of  the  buildings,  though  not 
all,  are  well  lighted  and  ventilated.  Some  of  the  toilets  are  old  but 
are  kept  as  well  as  could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances.  The 
common  drinking  cup  is  not  in  use  in  the  schools. 

6.  The  supervision  in  the  El  Paso  schools  is  adequate  in  quan- 
tity and  creditable  in  quality,  so  far  as  the  grade  schools  are  concerned. 
Some  of  these  departments  should  be  extended  to  include  work  in  the 
high  school.     Most  of  the  meetings  of  the  supervisors  with  groups  of 
teachers  are  held  on  one  specific  day  in  the  month. 

7.  There  are  441  teachers  in  the  El  Paso  schools.     Most  of  these 
are  well  prepared,  competent  and  efficient,  though  the  records  filed  in 
the  State  Department  of  Education  for  the  last  year  suggest  that  the 
requirements  of  a  degree  for  high  school  teachers  and  two  years  of 
normal  school  training  for  elementary  teachers  have  not  in  the  past 
been  strictly  complied  with.     There  are  not  enough  men  teachers  in 
the  high  school.      The  teachers  in  the  elementary  schools  have  made 
heroic  efforts  to  overcome  the  handicap  of  part-time  attendance  caused 
by  inadequate  school  facilities. 

S.  The  course  of  study  largely  follows  that  prescribed  by  the 
State  Department  of  Education.  This  is  due  largely  to  State  uni- 
formity of  text  books.  Some  modification  is  made  for  the  children  of 
the  Mexican  district,  but  still  more  should  be  made. 

9.  The  use  of  the  Ayres  Scale  of  Spelling  shows  that  the  El  Paso 
school  children  make  creditable  record  in  spelling  as  compared  with 
the  children  in  other  cities.     The  Beall  School  in  the  Mexican  dis- 
trict made  the  best  record  in  spelling  in  the  city.     The  papers  of  the 
children  are  in  general  neatly  written  and  creditably  prepared.     The 
distribution  of  the  children  by  grades  shows  that  the  percentage  of 
children  in  the  Mexican  district  tends  to  diminish  as  the  grades  go  up. 

10.  The  schools  are  organized  into  the  following  departments: 
Kindergartens,    primary   department,    intermediate    department,    high 
school,   junior  college,   special   classes,   extension  schools.     The  third 
grade  is  classed  with  the  intermediate  department.     There  is  a  special 
class  for  deaf  pupils  but  none  for  subnormal  pupils.     The  Junior  Col- 
lege is  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  El  Paso  schools  and  one  de- 
serving much  commendation. 

11.  Under  the  head  of  Extension  Schools  there  are  829  people 
enrolled  in  night  schools  and  201  in  the  vocational  classes  receiving 
Smith-Hughes  aid.       These  schools  are  doing  good  work  but  there 
should  be  more  of  them. 

12.  Among  the  organizations  in  the  community  co-operating  to 
some   extent  with   the   schools   are   the   Parent-Teacher   Associations, 
Young  Men's  Business  League,  the  Rotary  Club  and  the  Kiwanis  Club. 

(58) 


These  have  done  good  work  but  there  yet  remains  much  work  which 
they  can  do.  The  co-operation  in  the  matter  of  additional  health 
work  in  the  schools  is  specifically  suggested. 

13.  Not  a  great  deal  is  being  done  in  El  Paso  in  the  wider  use  of 
the  school  plant.     There  are  night  schools,  summer  schools  and  parent- 
teachers  associations,  but  little  is  done  in  the  way  of  community  coun- 
cils, community  forums,  the  use  of  the  school  as  a  social  center  or 
the  use  of  the  school  grounds  as  public  playgrounds. 

14.  Some  good  work  is  being  done  in  safeguarding  the  health 
of  the  school  children,  but  there  is  not  enough  of  it.     The  city  phy- 
sician paid  by  the  city,  devotes  half  of  his  time  to  health  work  in  the 
schools.     One  trained  nurse  is  employed  by  the  board  on  full  time. 
Two  untrained  workers,  known  as  hygienists  give  valuable  help.     An 
extra  physician   furnished  by  the  city  helps  vaccinate  the  children. 
Other  physicians  help  on  a  volunteer  basis. 

If).  There  is  very  slight  effort  being  made  to  enforce  the  laws 
of  compulsory  school  attendance.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  present 
lack  of  sufficient  school  buildings.  There  are  4,400  children  in  private 
and  parochial  schools  in  the  city — almost  one  out  of  four.  There  are 
at  least  2,400  children  of  school  age  in  the  city  who  have  not  this 
year  attended  any  school. 

16.  A  fairly  complete  system  of  records  and  reports  is  kept  in 
the  various  departments  of  the  school.  The  annual  report  made  by 
the  City  Superintendent  has  in  the  last  several  years  been  printed  in 
newspapers  but  has  not  been  published  as  a  separate  volume. 


XVIII.     RECOMMENDATIONS 

It  is,  of  course,  perfectly  clear  that  the  value  of  any  school  survey 
depends  largely  upon  the  value  of  the  specific  recommendations  made. 
If  the  result  of  these  recommendations  is  specific  betterment  of  the 
schools,  then  the  survey  has  been  worth  while.  If  no  results  follow 
then  the  time,  money  and  effort  expended  in  the  survey  have  been 
largely  wasted. 

However,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  every  single  recommenda- 
tion made  as  a  result  of  the  study  will  be  put  into  effect.  Part  of  them 
will  be  disregarded  for  financial  reasons.  About  some  of  them  there 
may  be  differences  of  opinion.  The  most  that  can  be  asked  is  that 
the  school  board,  the  school  officials  and  the  citizens  generally  consider 
the  recommendations  very  carefully  and  put  into  effect  such  of  them 
as  they  may  consider  feasible  and  worth  while. 

It  is  in  this  spirit  that  the  following  specific  suggestions  are  re- 
spectfully submitted : 

(59) 


1.  It  is  recommended  that  in  the  entire  administration  of  public 
school  affairs  in  the  city  of  El  Paso,  the  salient  features  of  the  city  itself 
be  kept  in  mind:  specifically  the  task  of  meeting  the  needs  of  large 
numbers  of  Mexican  children,  helping  them  to  the  right  kind  of  Ameri- 
canization and  thus  incidentally  helping  to  establish  the  right  kind 
of  international  sentiments  between  the  republic  of  the  United  States 
and  Mexico. 

2.  It  is  recommended  that  steps  be  taken  to  clear  up  the  un- 
certainty as  to  the  exact  legal  status  of  the  independent  school  dis- 
trict of  El  Paso.     Probably  the  easiest  way  to  do  this  would  be  by  an 
amendment  to  the  city  charter  specifically  recognizing  that  the  inde- 
pendent school  district  is  organized  under  the  general  school  laws  of 
the  State  and  hence  possesses  all  the  rights  and  powers  conferred  on 
such  districts  by  these  laws,  along  with  the  limitations  which  these 
laws  impose.     This  relationship  is  not  a  matter  of  merely  academic 
interest.     It  is  highly  important  because  it  involves  matters  of  taxa- 
tion and  of  the  authority  to  submit  bond  issues  to  be  voted  upon  by 
the  people. 

3.  While  the  people  of  El  Paso  differ  on  questions  of  partisan 
politics  and  religious  denominations,  and  while  feeling  on  such  sub- 
jects is  sometimes  fairly  acute,  it  is  earnestly  recommended  that  neither 
sectarian  nor  political  matters  be  allowed  to  enter  into  questions  per- 
taining to  the  welfare  of  the  schools.       It  is  earnestly  recommended 
that  when  school  board  members  are  found  to  be  capable  and  fair- 
minded  they  be  continued  in  office  long  enough  to  allow  them  to  de- 
velop continuous  and  constructive  school  policies.     A  deeper  and  more 
general  public  interest  in  the  schools,  manifested  first  of  all  by  a  larger 
vote  cast  in  school  board  elections,  is  one  of  the  first  requisites  to  a 
progressive  school  administration. 

4.  It  is  recommended  that  steps  be  taken  to  secure  more  money 
for  the  support  of  the  El  Paso  schools,  either  by  an  increase  of  the 
amount  of  the  tax  rate  for  school  purposes  or  by  an  increase  of  the 
percentage  of  the  rendition  of  property  for  taxation.     Steps  should  be 
taken  to  make  it  practicable  for  more  of  the  teachers  to  actually  reach 
the  theoretical  maximum  in  the  schedule  of  salaries.     This  maximum 
should  be  reached  in  a  shorter  time  than  ten  years. 

The  business  department  should  be  reorganized  so  as  not  to  over- 
lap the  educational  department,  though  it  should  be  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  superintendent.  One  person  and  one  only  should  be 
authorized  to  make  purchases  of  any  kind.  A  written  order  should 
be  given  with  any  purchase.  No  bill  should  be  approved  unless  ac- 
companied by  this  written  order.  The  one  person  who  can  make  pur- 
chases should  be  recognized  as  the  head  of  the  business  department 
of  the  schools.  Preferably  he  should  not  be  connected  with  the  edu- 
cational department. 

(60) 


-5.  Of  the  $500,000  soon  to  become  available  for  elementary 
school  buildings,  at  least  60  per  cent  should  in  accordance  with  the 
needs  of  the  case  be  spent  in  the  Mexican  district  of  the  city. 

The  money  should  be  spent  almost  totally  for  new  buildings  and 
sites,  and  not  for  additions  to  present  buildings,  since  in  most  instances 
the  grounds  and  present  buildings  are  inadequate. 

In  the  future  no  site  should  be  purchased  for  a  school  of  any 
size  unless  that  site  contains  the  equivalent  of  two  city  blocks.  In 
cases  where  it  is  possible,  'present  school  grounds  should  be  added  to. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  general  policy  be  followed  of  not 
having  any  elementary  school  with  the  enrollment  exceeding  1,000 
pupils.  When  2,000  pupils  are  enrolled,  as  is  at  present  the  case  at 
the  Aoy  School,  a  new  building  should  be  provided  in  a  suitable  loca- 
tion but  not  immediately  connected  with  the  present  school. 

The  general  ideal  of  adequacy  should  be  to  have  enough  buildings 
to  allow  every  child  in  the  city  above  the  grade  of  the  kindergarten 
to  attend  school  for  the  entire  school  day.  If  any  exception  is  made 
to  this  rule  it  should  be  in  the  case  of  the  American  children  in  the 
first  half  of  their  first  year  at  school. 

The  board  through  its  own  committees,  and  through  co-operative 
committees  of  other  bodies  should  make  a  careful  study  of  the  avail- 
able grounds  in  the  city  in  the  light  of  school  enrollment  and  should 
undertake  to  get  options  on  sites  which  are  now  needed  or  will  soon 
be  needed. 

It  should  be  frankly  recognized  that  the  $500,000  soon  to  be 
available  for  school  buildings  as  a  result  of  the  bond  issue  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  properly  take  care  of  all  the  children  in  the  city.  Steps 
should  be  taken  as  soon  as  possible  looking  to  the  obtaining  of  addi- 
tional money. 

In  the  future  all  permanent  school  buildings  constructed  for  ele- 
mentary school  purposes  should  be  of  fireproof  construction  and  should 
possess  suitable  auditoriums. 

Primary  rooms  should  be  equipped  with  movable  tables  and  chairs 
rather  than  with  rigid  school  desks. 

6.  It  is  recommended  that  the  third  grade  be  considered  part  of 
the  primary  department  and  under  the  primary  supervisor. 

It  is  recommended  that  grade  and  departmental  meetings  be  not 
held  on  the  same  date  as  the  general  institute  meetings;  and  that  stated 
office  hours  of  the  supervisors  be  printed  in  such  form  as  to  be  avail- 
able for  all  the  teachers. 

•  7.  It  is  recommended  that  in  the  future  the  requirement  be 
rigidly  adhered  to  that  teachers  elected  to  places  in  the  elementary 
schools  shall  have  two  years  of  preparation  above  graduation  from 
the  high  school  and  that  teachers  in  high  school  have  at  least  four 

(61) 


years  of  such  additional  training,  leading  to  a  college  or  university 
degree. 

8.  It  is  recommended  that  still  greater  adaptation  be  made  in 
the  course  of  study  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  needs  of  the  Mexi- 
can children.     The  special  that  should  be  stressed  in  the  school  work 
of  these  children  are  (a)  English  in  all  its  necessary  phases,  (b)  sub- 
jects in  which  the  children  are  specially  gifted,   (c)  extra  work  along 
industrial  lines,  specifically  more  cooking  and  sewing  for  the  girls. 

In  the  high  school  physics  should  precede  chemistry,  physical  edu- 
cation should  be  made  compulsory,  and  the  vocational  subjects  should 
be  recognized  as  of  at  least  equal  value  with  the  academic  subjects 
in  the  matter  of  graduating  credits.  The  work  of  the  Junior  College 
should  be  continued  and  strengthened. 

9.  More  use  of  the  standard  scale  should  be  made  for  the  measure- 
ments of  the  results  of  the  instruction  in  the  common  school  branches. 

10.  Steps  should  be  taken  looking  to  the  establishment  at  some 
time  in  the  near  future  of  two  junior  high  schools,  one  north  of  the 
tracks  and  one  south  of  the  tracks.     With  this  in  mind  the  course 
of  study  should  be  reorganized  on  the  basis  of  six  years  in  the  ele- 
mentary schools,  two  or  three  in  junior  high  school,  and  three  or  two 
in  the  senior  high  school.       The  present  beginning  of  a  junior  high 
school  at  Manhattan  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction.     This  reorganiza- 
tion will  result  in  good  for  the  course  of  study  and  will  also  help  solve 
the  question  of  additional  room  for  the  high  school. 

11.  There  should  be  more  night  schools  and  more  vocational 
classes.     Still   greater   emphasis   should   be  laid   upon   the  matter  of 
teaching  English  to  adult  foreigners. 

12.  The  organization  of  community  councils  with   the  school- 
house  as  the  center,  should  be  encouraged.       The  use  of  the  school 
grounds  as  a  public  playground  should  be  greatly  extended. 

18.  The  co-operation  of  such  bodies  as  Parent-Teachers  Asso- 
ciations, the  Rotary  Club,  the  Kiwanis  Club  and  the  Young  Men's 
Business  League  should  be  welcomed,  encouraged  and  stimulated.  The 
specific  subject  of  health  work  in  the  schools  is  suggested  as  affording 
great  opportunities  for  definite  co-operating. 

14.  There  should  in  general  be  more  health  work  in  the  schools 
than  there  is. 

A  physician  should  be  employed  on  full  time. 

There  should  be  more  than  one  school  nurse.  At  least  four  are 
necessary.  If  some  of  these  were  furnished  by  the  Red  Cross,  the 
city  or  some  private  organization,  it  would  be  well  worth  while. 

The  work  of  the  two  hygienists  should  be  continued. 

A  definite  schedule  should  be  prepared  setting  forth  the  length 
of  time  which  must  elapse  after  exposure  to  contagious  disease  before 
a  child  can  be  readmitted  to  school.  There  should  be  one  person,  and 

(62) 


only  one  authorized  to  decide  when  children  shall  be  excluded  and 
when  they  may  be  readmitted. 

The  weighing  and  measurement  of  school  children  should  be  con- 
tinued and  extended.  The  work  of  physical  education  should  be 
strengthened.  There  should  be  more  supervised  play  on  the  school 
grounds  both  during  the  school  days  and  out  of  hours. 

15.  After  more  adequate  school  facilities  have  been  provided, 
steps  should  be  taken  for  the  better  enforcement  of  the  compulsory 
attendance  laws. 

16.  A  record  of  the  work  of  all  the  school  children  should  be  kept 
in  the  superintendent's  office,  as  a  transcript  of  the  summary  already 
on  file  in  the  offices  of  the  principals. 

The  detailed  daily  report  of  the  principals  to  the  superintendent 
might  be  done  away  with  and  the  monthly  report  allowed  to  take  its 
place. 

The  annual  report  of  the  superintendent,  embracing  finances,  sta- 
tistics and  general  information  concerning  the  school  and  its  depart- 
ments, should  be  published  in  a  special  volume  each  year.  This 
volume  will  serve  the  double  purpose  of  a  means  for  putting  the  schools 
before  the  public  and  acting  as  a  permanent  record  of  the  progress 
of  the  schools. 


(63) 


FINALLY. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  a  conscientious  and  intelligent  visitor 
to  inspect  the  El  Paso  schools  without  coming  to  the  conclusion  that 
taken  all  in  all  the  system  is  a  good  one,  although  it  is  capable  of  im- 
provement in  certain  specified  instances. 

The  part-time  evil  is  the  most  noticeable  one  and  this  can  be  cor- 
rected in  part  though  not  in  whole  by  the  proceeds  of  the  recent 
bond  issue. 

The  general  spirit  of  the  school  and  its  methods  of  instruction  are 
as  a  whole  greatly  superior  to  the  material  facilities  with  which  it 
works. 

Out  of  all  the  thousands  of  papers  from  pupils  of  the  schools 
which  I  have  examined  in  connection  with  this  study,  I  have  selected 
one  as  illustrative  of  the  spirit  of  the  pupil.  It  comes  from  a  fifth 
grade  boy  at  Aoy  School.  It  is  well  written  and  is  given  as  follows: 

Room  28,  Aoy  School, 
El  Paso,  Texas,  Dec.  15,  1921. 
MR.  P.  W.  HORN, 
EL  PASO,  TEXAS. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  am  very  happy  because  you  visited  Aoy  School, 
and  also  other  schools  of  El  Paso. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  the  things  that  I  like  about 
the  United  States. 

The  first  thing  that  I  am  obliged  for  is  the  educa- 
tion that  the  United  States  gives  me.  I  like  its  libraries, 
the  parks,  and  especially  the  swimming  pools  where  in 
the  summer  one  has  a  very  happy  time.  Also  I  like  the 
scenery,  the  climate,  the  people  and  the  government. 
I  hope  you  will  come  and  visit  our  school  again. 

Your  friend, 

FIDEL  BARRON. 

There  is  material  in  this  letter  which  it  will  be  worth  while  for 
the  citizens  of  El  Paso  to  think  over  very  carefully. 


(64) 


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